Cypress Capital Group Sells 9,490 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Cypress Capital Group cut its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 69.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,490 shares during the period. Cypress Capital Group’s holdings in Centene were worth $310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 17.1% in the third quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,478,000 after buying an additional 99,904 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its position in shares of Centene by 35.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after purchasing an additional 7,385 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 189.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 24,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,895,000 after purchasing an additional 15,819 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank raised its stake in shares of Centene by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,307,000 after purchasing an additional 8,103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Centene by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $108,063,000 after purchasing an additional 191,768 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the acquisition, 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Price Performance

NYSE CNC opened at $60.30 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $57.20 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $66.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.60.

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.