Quest Partners LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Quest Partners LLC lowered its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 26.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,879 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,847 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,195,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in Centene during the first quarter worth about $914,080,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Centene by 60.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,390,000 after buying an additional 1,959,460 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 22.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,799,000 after buying an additional 832,318 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Centene by 14.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in Centene by 42.3% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,838,000 after buying an additional 416,003 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.8 %

CNC stock opened at $57.80 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. Centene Co. has a twelve month low of $57.20 and a twelve month high of $81.42. The company’s 50 day moving average is $67.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.76. The stock has a market cap of $29.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.03, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on CNC shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Centene news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.