Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Sells 36,138 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board decreased its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 88.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,928 shares of the company’s stock after selling 36,138 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Centene were worth $371,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Vantage Investment Partners LLC raised its holdings in Centene by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Vantage Investment Partners LLC now owns 683,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $51,478,000 after purchasing an additional 99,904 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in Centene by 35.8% during the second quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 28,009 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,857,000 after buying an additional 7,385 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank lifted its holdings in Centene by 7.3% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 118,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,307,000 after buying an additional 8,103 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its position in Centene by 15.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,435,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $108,063,000 after acquiring an additional 191,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in Centene by 526.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 56,230 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,413,000 after acquiring an additional 47,257 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares in the company, valued at $28,305,284.58. This represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The stock was bought 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Centene Trading Up 0.0 %

NYSE CNC opened at $60.37 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.10, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.50. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $57.20 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

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.