Nordea Investment Management AB Grows Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,589,031 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,171 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Centene were worth $157,102,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 35.6% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,914 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,000 after purchasing an additional 1,028 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Centene by 3.7% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 621,664 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,799,000 after buying an additional 22,233 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. increased its position in Centene by 32.4% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 21.8% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 42,117 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,171,000 after acquiring an additional 7,549 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in shares of Centene during the 3rd quarter worth about $211,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $62.64 on Tuesday. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.62 billion, a PE ratio of 10.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s 50-day moving average is $60.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have issued reports on CNC. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group raised Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.