Toronto Dominion Bank Boosts Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 0.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 261,710 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 515 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank’s holdings in Centene were worth $19,702,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 20.3% during the second quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 57,063 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,783,000 after purchasing an additional 9,612 shares in the last quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $285,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in shares of Centene by 47.9% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares in the last quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth approximately $132,000. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Centene by 17.9% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 8,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $570,000 after purchasing an additional 1,307 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $58.00 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $62.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.80. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month high of $81.42. 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 firm has a market cap of $29.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.07, a PEG ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on 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 Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $82.62.

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.