Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Director Theodore R. Samuels II Acquires 5,000 Shares

Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 13th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 23,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,353,780. This trade represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CNC opened at $59.49 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $61.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.35. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $55.03 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. UBS Group raised shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Stephens lowered their price target on Centene from $75.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price target (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on Centene from $89.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Centene currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.92.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centene

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Harris Associates L P boosted its position in Centene by 5.7% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 26,314,183 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,932,000 after buying an additional 1,420,825 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 23,468,159 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,766,683,000 after acquiring an additional 111,654 shares in 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 acquiring an additional 194,566 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $364,117,000 after purchasing an additional 25,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in Centene by 14.2% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

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.