GSA Capital Partners LLP Increases Stock Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

GSA Capital Partners LLP raised its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 95.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,391 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,043 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP’s holdings in Centene were worth $933,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Centene by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $572,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the period. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its holdings in Centene by 4.7% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. acquired a new stake in Centene during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $622,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in Centene by 78.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 817,299 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,747,000 after purchasing an additional 358,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Centene by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Advisors LLC now owns 15,800 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Down 2.1 %

CNC opened at $57.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $57.25 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $68.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.12. The stock has a market cap of $29.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.49.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 667,229 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. The trade was a 0.62 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher bought 17,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.