MML Investors Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Free Report) by 69.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 35,585 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 14,581 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC's holdings in Centene were worth $2,679,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CNC. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Centene by 47.9% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $313,000 after purchasing an additional 1,527 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust increased its position in Centene by 17.9% during the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 8,602 shares of the company's stock worth $570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its position in Centene by 459.2% during the second quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 1,096 shares of the company's stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Cypress Capital Group increased its position in shares of Centene by 192.8% in the second quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 13,610 shares of the company's stock worth $902,000 after purchasing an additional 8,962 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Centene by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company's stock valued at $364,117,000 after buying an additional 25,595 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock traded down $0.25 during trading on Monday, hitting $59.17. The stock had a trading volume of 5,987,130 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,107,447. The stock's 50 day moving average is $61.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.51. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $55.03 and a 1 year high of $81.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $29.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens reduced their price target on shares of Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $81.31.

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.