Gries Financial LLC Raises Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Gries Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 74.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,136 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,187 shares during the quarter. Gries Financial LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $311,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 64.0% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 32,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,154,000 after buying an additional 12,674 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at about $3,373,000. Paragon Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Centene by 8.5% during the second quarter. Paragon Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,614,000 after acquiring an additional 1,910 shares in the last quarter. Davis Capital Management raised its position in shares of Centene by 8.0% in the third quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 17,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,329,000 after buying an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Centene by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 107,157 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,067,000 after acquiring an additional 5,463 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CNC opened at $64.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $61.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.19. The stock has a market cap of $32.63 billion, a PE ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.45.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on CNC. Barclays upped their price objective on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. UBS Group upgraded Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director H James Dallas bought 1,693 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, with a total value of $99,903.93. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,693 shares in the company, valued at approximately $99,903.93. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have purchased a total of 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.