EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 84.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 25,250 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,583 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $1,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of CNC. Harris Associates L P increased its holdings in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after acquiring an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company's stock worth $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,255,000 after buying an additional 194,566 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its position in Centene by 0.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company's stock worth $364,117,000 after buying an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 14.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company's stock worth $339,042,000 after acquiring an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company's stock.
A number of research firms recently commented on CNC. StockNews.com cut Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.92.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on CNC
In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $58.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $69.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $56.44 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.
Centene Corporation operates as a healthcare enterprise that provides programs and services to under-insured and uninsured families, commercial organizations, and military families in the United States. The company operates through Medicaid, Medicare, Commercial, and Other segments. The Medicaid segment offers health plan coverage, including medicaid expansion, aged, blind, disabled, children's health insurance program, foster care, medicare-medicaid plans, long-term services and support.
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