Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Acquired by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 109,465 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,308 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Centene were worth $6,631,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Centene by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 456,454 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,263,000 after acquiring an additional 12,607 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Centene by 8.9% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,707,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,426 shares during the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. grew its position in Centene by 136.2% in the 2nd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 13,313 shares of the company’s stock valued at $883,000 after buying an additional 7,677 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Centene by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in Centene by 16.4% during the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 159,885 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,585,000 after buying an additional 22,525 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a 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 given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Centene Price Performance

CNC stock opened at $63.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $60.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.41. The firm has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Monday, December 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.