QV Investors Inc. Has $23.23 Million Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

QV Investors Inc. boosted its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 48.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 383,522 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125,465 shares during the quarter. Centene accounts for 2.4% of QV Investors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 14th largest holding. QV Investors Inc. owned 0.08% of Centene worth $23,234,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Vantage Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Centene by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after buying an additional 99,904 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,766,683,000 after purchasing an additional 111,654 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in Centene by 31.1% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 118,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,944,000 after purchasing an additional 28,175 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its position in Centene by 15.4% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,063,000 after buying an additional 191,768 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its stake in shares of Centene by 273.5% during the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 44,285 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,334,000 after buying an additional 32,428 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Up 3.0 %

Centene stock traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $63.66. The stock had a trading volume of 1,855,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,341,958. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $60.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.45. The company has a market capitalization of $32.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a PEG ratio of 0.78 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.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 19,309 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. This trade represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Insiders have bought 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on CNC. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Stephens cut their target price 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.92.

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.