Merit Financial Group LLC Buys New Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 12,535 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $759,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Park Place Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% in the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Centene by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in Centene during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $66,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Centene by 104.8% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,231 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 77.3% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $88,000 after purchasing an additional 507 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on CNC. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upped their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Thomas Greco acquired 17,000 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,353,780. The trade was a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $63.56 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $32.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.03, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.45. 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 twelve month low of $55.03 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company’s fifty day moving average is $60.25 and its 200 day moving average is $67.28.

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.