Cypress Capital Group Lowers Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Cypress Capital Group cut its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 69.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,490 shares during the quarter. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Centene were worth $310,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Centene by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,068,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 41.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in Centene by 10.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the period. Finally, Meridian Management Co. increased its stake in Centene by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 64,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,291,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $60.30 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $57.20 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. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.44 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of 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. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.