Private Trust Co. NA Buys 332 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 75.3% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 773 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Centene were worth $58,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Centene by 22.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock valued at $295,799,000 after buying an additional 832,318 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Centene by 14.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its stake in shares of Centene by 42.3% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,838,000 after purchasing an additional 416,003 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Centene by 8.9% in the 2nd 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 period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in Centene by 133.7% during the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 559,213 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,539,000 after buying an additional 319,927 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. 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. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were 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 directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of Centene stock opened at $60.00 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.11 and a 200-day moving average of $69.88. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $57.20 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10.

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.