Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 693.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,490,935 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Centene were worth $103,346,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Park Place Capital Corp increased its stake in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter valued at about $66,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 104.8% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 77.3% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have bought 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Centene Stock Down 0.4 %

CNC opened at $63.44 on Wednesday. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The firm has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $60.06 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $75.00 target price (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

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.