Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Acquires Shares of 3,019 Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI bought a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 3,019 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of CNC. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 41.4% in the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in shares of Centene by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,562 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Centene by 2.1% during the third quarter. Mount Yale Investment Advisors LLC now owns 8,082 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Meridian Management Co. raised its position in Centene by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Meridian Management Co. now owns 64,721 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,291,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Finally, E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 6.4% in the second quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 199 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Centene Stock Performance

CNC opened at $60.37 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $57.20 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $66.68 and its 200 day moving average is $70.46. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.49.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of Centene stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Company 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.