River Road Asset Management LLC Sells 7,672 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

River Road Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,602 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,672 shares during the period. River Road Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $8,025,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 18.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,046,000 after purchasing an additional 98,298 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co lifted its position in Centene by 35.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 7,385 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Centene by 189.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 15,819 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its position in Centene by 7.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after acquiring an additional 8,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Centene by 526.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,413,000 after purchasing an additional 47,257 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Up 1.6 %

CNC stock opened at $64.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $32.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.25, a P/E/G ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a one year low of $59.77 and a one year high of $81.42. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $70.71 and its 200 day moving average is $71.82.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

About Centene

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.