Natixis Advisors LLC Buys 30,141 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 7.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 414,960 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,141 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $31,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Place Capital Corp grew its holdings in Centene by 1,190.0% in the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its holdings in Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in Centene by 154.6% in the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on CNC. StockNews.com downgraded Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other Centene news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the 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 purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Centene Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE CNC opened at $57.46 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $68.06 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.99. 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 stock has a market cap of $29.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $57.25 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

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.