Natixis Advisors LLC Acquires 30,141 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 414,960 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 30,141 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Centene worth $31,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter worth approximately $914,080,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Centene by 60.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,799,000 after acquiring an additional 832,318 shares in the last quarter. 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 valued at $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Centene by 42.3% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,838,000 after purchasing an additional 416,003 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased 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 $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on CNC. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $57.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $29.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $68.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $70.99. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $57.25 and a twelve month high of $81.42.

Centene Profile

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.