Empowered Funds LLC Purchases 22,606 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 10.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 238,456 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,606 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $17,951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter valued at $914,080,000. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Centene by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,652,177 shares of the company’s stock valued at $678,033,000 after acquiring an additional 32,427 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Centene by 0.5% in 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in shares of Centene by 60.2% during the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,216,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $409,390,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in shares of Centene by 14.2% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 5,113,759 shares of the company’s stock valued at $339,042,000 after buying an additional 636,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Centene in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Centene Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CNC opened at $58.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.21. 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 company has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.19, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $57.56 and a 1-year high of $81.42.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was acquired 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 trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.80 per share, with a total value 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 disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Centene Company 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.