Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Buys 1,590 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 5.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,422 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $2,290,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Centene by 18.7% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 624,944 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,046,000 after purchasing an additional 98,298 shares in the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in Centene by 35.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,857,000 after acquiring an additional 7,385 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Centene by 189.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,895,000 after acquiring an additional 15,819 shares in the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in shares of Centene by 7.3% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,307,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in Centene by 526.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,230 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,413,000 after purchasing an additional 47,257 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $58.60 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $71.41. 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 stock has a market cap of $29.58 billion, a PE ratio of 10.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $58.56 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of 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 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CNC. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

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.