Thomas Greco Acquires 17,000 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Stock

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC - Get Free Report) Director Thomas Greco bought 17,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $59.75 per share, with a total value of $1,015,750.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 19,309 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,153,712.75. The trade was a 736.25 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC traded up $0.22 during trading on Thursday, hitting $59.71. The stock had a trading volume of 16,574,676 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,178,431. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $61.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $55.03 and a 12-month 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.

Institutional Trading of Centene

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Grove Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in Centene by 17.9% in the second quarter. Grove Bank & Trust now owns 8,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $570,000 after acquiring an additional 1,307 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings 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 holdings in Centene by 192.8% in the second quarter. Cypress Capital Group now owns 13,610 shares of the company's stock valued at $902,000 after buying an additional 8,962 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company's stock worth $364,117,000 after acquiring an additional 25,595 shares during the period. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System grew its position in shares of Centene by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 168,227 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,153,000 after acquiring an additional 2,700 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on CNC. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial reduced their target price on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a "hold" rating to an "underperform" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.92.

Centene Company 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.

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