Fortem Financial Group LLC Lowers Stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Fortem Financial Group LLC lessened its position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 8.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,677 shares of the company’s stock after selling 668 shares during the quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $465,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 5.2% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 27,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,816,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Centene by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 668,888 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,347,000 after purchasing an additional 78,005 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its position in Centene by 1.1% during the second quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 155,060 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,280,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new position in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Centene by 94.2% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 11,318 shares of the company’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 5,489 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE CNC traded up $1.07 on Monday, reaching $62.55. 2,670,900 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,788,872. The company has a quick ratio of 1.10, a current ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.63. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $55.03 and a 12 month high of $81.42. The company has a market cap of $31.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.45.

Insider Activity at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II bought 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 13th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $58.86 per share, with a total value of $294,300.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 23,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,353,780. This represents a 27.78 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director H James Dallas purchased 1,693 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $59.01 per share, for a total transaction of $99,903.93. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,693 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $99,903.93. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 45,010 shares of company stock valued at $2,660,276 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective (down previously from $80.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Centene from a “hold” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Barclays raised their target price on Centene from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on Centene from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.92.

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.