37,352 Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Acquired by ING Groep NV

ING Groep NV bought a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 37,352 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,812,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new position in Centene in the first quarter valued at about $914,080,000. Boston Partners increased its position in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,033,000 after purchasing an additional 32,427 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Centene by 60.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after buying an additional 1,959,460 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in Centene by 14.2% during the second 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 during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Trading Down 2.1 %

CNC stock opened at $57.46 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.01 billion, a PE ratio of 9.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $68.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.01. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.25 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought 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 owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.