Fifth Third Bancorp Trims Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Fifth Third Bancorp reduced its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 59,420 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,694 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Centene were worth $3,600,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Park Place Capital Corp increased its position in Centene by 1,190.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its position in shares of Centene by 75.3% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 773 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,000 after buying an additional 332 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in Centene in the third quarter worth about $66,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $88,000 after acquiring an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Cromwell Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 588.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CNC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Truist Financial reduced their price target on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired 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 $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have purchased 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $65.88 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $60.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.25. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $55.03 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $33.26 billion, a PE ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45.

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.