Citigroup Inc. Decreases Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Citigroup Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 624,046 shares of the company’s stock after selling 135,354 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Centene were worth $46,978,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $914,080,000. 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 stake in Centene by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its stake in Centene by 42.3% in 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 buying an additional 416,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Centene by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,707,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $312,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,426 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other Centene news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Centene Price Performance

Centene stock opened at $60.37 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a PE ratio of 10.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $57.20 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $66.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $70.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

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.