Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Purchases 28,175 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 31.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 118,810 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,175 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.'s holdings in Centene were worth $8,944,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Park Place Capital Corp boosted its holdings in Centene by 1,190.0% during 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 boosted its holdings in Centene by 41.4% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Chris Bulman Inc purchased a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its holdings in Centene by 154.6% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded down $1.43 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $60.00. 5,544,030 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,054,205. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $57.20 and a 52-week 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 business's fifty day moving average is $66.38 and its 200-day moving average is $70.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on CNC. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Oppenheimer lowered their price objective on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Insider Activity

In other Centene 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 bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. The trade was a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 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.