Fmr LLC Has $1.85 Billion Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Fmr LLC lessened its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 30.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 24,570,510 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,509,701 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned about 4.87% of Centene worth $1,849,668,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its position in shares of Centene by 10.0% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock valued at $608,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the period. Meridian Management Co. increased its position in shares of Centene by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 64,721 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,291,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Centene by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $60.00 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $57.20 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.