Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,203,049 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 428,100 shares during the quarter. Hotchkis & Wiley Capital Management LLC owned about 0.63% of Centene worth $241,126,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in shares of Centene by 526.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,230 shares of the company's stock worth $4,413,000 after buying an additional 47,257 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 24.7% in the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 20,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,632,000 after acquiring an additional 4,122 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Centene by 11.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in shares of Centene by 11.7% during the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 87,673 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,813,000 after purchasing an additional 9,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $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 corporate insiders.

Centene Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Centene stock traded down $0.62 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $59.44. The stock had a trading volume of 5,300,842 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,613,047. The company has a market capitalization of $30.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $64.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.70. 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.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.92.

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.