Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stake Increased by Meridian Management Co.

Meridian Management Co. increased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 4.1% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 67,371 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,650 shares during the quarter. Centene accounts for about 1.3% of Meridian Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Meridian Management Co.’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,072,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter worth $914,080,000. Boston Partners increased its stake in Centene by 0.4% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,033,000 after purchasing an additional 32,427 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake 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 valued at $364,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Centene by 60.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in Centene by 14.2% during 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. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC stock opened at $60.75 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.41. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $59.77 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of Centene 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on CNC. Oppenheimer lowered their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

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.