HBW Advisory Services LLC Reduces Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

HBW Advisory Services LLC lowered its stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 87.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,501 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,934 shares during the quarter. HBW Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 5.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 27,391 shares of the company's stock worth $1,816,000 after purchasing an additional 1,364 shares during the last quarter. Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at approximately $858,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Centene by 7.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,922,631 shares of the company's stock valued at $127,470,000 after acquiring an additional 137,547 shares in the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in Centene by 8.6% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 630,687 shares of the company's stock worth $42,377,000 after purchasing an additional 49,808 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Centene by 30.1% during the 2nd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 7,441 shares of the company's stock valued at $493,000 after acquiring an additional 1,720 shares in the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC stock traded down $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $61.72. 5,179,025 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,775,751. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $60.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.45. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were purchased at an average price 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 in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,153,712.75. This represents a 736.25 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders purchased 45,010 shares of company stock worth $2,660,276. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several research reports. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Truist Financial cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.92.

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.