Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Bought by Ritholtz Wealth Management

Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,791 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management’s holdings in Centene were worth $290,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. Sendero Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 30.1% during the fourth quarter. Sendero Wealth Management LLC now owns 81,348 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,928,000 after purchasing an additional 18,808 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 693.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Centene by 53.0% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $259,000 after acquiring an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 66.9% in the 4th quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC now owns 19,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,181,000 after purchasing an additional 7,814 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QV Investors Inc. grew its position in shares of Centene by 48.6% in the fourth quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 383,522 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,234,000 after purchasing an additional 125,465 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial dropped their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.92.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $63.56 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $60.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.28. The company has a market capitalization of $32.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, for a total transaction of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at $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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have purchased 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

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.