Martingale Asset Management L P Sells 109,326 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Martingale Asset Management L P reduced its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 31.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 236,081 shares of the company's stock after selling 109,326 shares during the quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P's holdings in Centene were worth $17,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 22.9% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company's stock worth $295,799,000 after purchasing an additional 832,318 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings 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. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 42.3% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company's stock valued at $92,838,000 after purchasing an additional 416,003 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in Centene by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,707,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $312,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its stake in shares of Centene by 128.3% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 580,879 shares of the company's stock worth $45,241,000 after buying an additional 326,468 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired 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 owns 486,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the company'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 completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, 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. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased 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. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $83.92.

Centene Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $60.00. 2,380,073 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,044,422. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $65.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.04. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $57.20 and a 1-year high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market cap of $30.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.49.

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.