Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stock Holdings Boosted by Vantage Investment Partners LLC

Vantage Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 793,656 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 109,839 shares during the quarter. Centene comprises 4.2% of Vantage Investment Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Vantage Investment Partners LLC owned 0.16% of Centene worth $48,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 693.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,346,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490,935 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P raised its position in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after buying an additional 1,420,825 shares during the last quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,126,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in Centene by 27.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,602,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,082,000 after purchasing an additional 343,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at about $236,940,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens lowered their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, Director Thomas Greco purchased 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at $99,903.93. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have purchased 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $65.88 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.25. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45.

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.