Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Gladius Capital Management LP

Gladius Capital Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,238 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,250 shares during the quarter. Centene accounts for approximately 0.1% of Gladius Capital Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. Gladius Capital Management LP’s holdings in Centene were worth $997,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Park Place Capital Corp raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Centene by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 154.6% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on CNC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $57.46 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $68.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $71.00. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $57.25 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The company has a market capitalization of $29.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49.

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.