Fortem Financial Group LLC Sells 668 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Fortem Financial Group LLC lessened its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,677 shares of the company’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $465,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Meridian Management Co. boosted its position in Centene by 0.3% in the second quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 64,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,291,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of Centene by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,722 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Finally, CX Institutional grew its position in Centene by 7.3% during the third quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,919 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,000 after buying an additional 266 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on CNC. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have bought 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Centene Trading Up 1.7 %

CNC stock traded up $1.07 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $62.55. 2,670,900 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,788,872. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $60.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.86, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Co. has a one year low of $55.03 and a one year high of $81.42.

Centene Company 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.