Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Sells 533 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 4.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 12,721 shares of the company’s stock after selling 533 shares during the quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in Centene were worth $958,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Centene in the 1st quarter worth approximately $914,080,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Centene by 22.9% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 4,461,517 shares of the company’s stock worth $295,799,000 after purchasing an additional 832,318 shares in the last quarter. 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 in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ raised its holdings in shares of Centene by 42.3% in 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 buying an additional 416,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Centene by 8.9% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,707,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $312,150,000 after acquiring an additional 385,426 shares during the last quarter. 93.63% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $110.00 to $95.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.92.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of Centene stock in a transaction that occurred 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 purchase, the chief financial officer now directly owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This represents 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 owned by insiders.

Centene Price Performance

CNC opened at $61.43 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.31. 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 stock has a market cap of $31.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.66, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.49. Centene Co. has a 12 month low of $57.20 and a 12 month high of $81.42.

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.