Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Acquires 6,989 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 97.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,130 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,989 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $1,064,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in Centene in the 1st quarter worth approximately $914,080,000. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 60.2% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,390,000 after buying an additional 1,959,460 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,799,000 after buying an additional 832,318 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in Centene by 14.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock worth $339,042,000 after acquiring an additional 636,683 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in Centene by 42.3% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 1,400,276 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,838,000 after acquiring an additional 416,003 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Stock Performance

Centene stock opened at $58.69 on Friday. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $57.56 and a 52-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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $68.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $71.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.08, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.49.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer cut their price objective on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Centene has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London acquired 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

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.