Ballentine Partners LLC Cuts Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Ballentine Partners LLC cut its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 27.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,207 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,614 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Centene by 693.5% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,705,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,346,000 after buying an additional 1,490,935 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in Centene by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares during the period. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 15.4% in the third quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC now owns 3,203,049 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,126,000 after purchasing an additional 428,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the third quarter valued at about $236,940,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average cost 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 directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have acquired 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $64.61 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.23. The stock has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

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.