Raymond James Trust N.A. Buys 829 Shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 73,188 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Centene were worth $5,510,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Centene by 1,190.0% during the 3rd quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 387 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 41.4% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 468 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Chris Bulman Inc bought a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its position in Centene by 154.6% during the 2nd quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the period. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CNC shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Centene from $83.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays cut their price target on Centene from $97.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 29th. 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. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Centene from $80.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Centene from $91.00 to $90.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sarah London purchased 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $60.80 per share, for a total transaction of $250,313.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 667,229 shares in the company, valued at $40,567,523.20. This represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher acquired 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, with a total value of $1,000,008.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 486,847 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,305,284.58. This trade represents a 3.66 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC opened at $60.37 on Friday. Centene Co. has a one year low of $57.20 and a one year high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $30.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.48, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $66.68 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.50.

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.