Jennison Associates LLC Sells 24,172 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Jennison Associates LLC cut its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,708,163 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,172 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $128,591,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter worth approximately $914,080,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.4% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,033,000 after buying an additional 32,427 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Centene by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,117,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its position in Centene by 60.2% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $409,390,000 after acquiring an additional 1,959,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Centene by 14.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after acquiring an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE:CNC opened at $57.80 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $29.18 billion, a PE ratio of 10.03, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $67.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $57.20 and a 52-week high of $81.42.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered 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. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased 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 directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Centene Company 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.