Janus Henderson Group PLC Cuts Stock Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lowered its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 23.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 872,072 shares of the company’s stock after selling 260,785 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned approximately 0.17% of Centene worth $65,648,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Harris Associates L P grew its position in Centene by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,980,932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,825 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in Centene by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,768,534 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,255,000 after purchasing an additional 194,566 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its position in Centene by 0.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 5,491,968 shares of the company’s stock worth $364,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in Centene by 14.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after purchasing an additional 636,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Centene by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,707,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,150,000 after purchasing an additional 385,426 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on CNC. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 29th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Centene presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.92.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $57.95 on Friday. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $63.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.26 billion, a PE ratio of 10.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.46. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $57.20 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42.

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.