Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. cut its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 7.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,672,542 shares of the company’s stock after selling 298,958 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.73% of Centene worth $276,469,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Activity at Centene

In related news, CEO Sarah London bought 4,117 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The stock was purchased at an average price 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,567,523.20. This trade represents a 0.62 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Andrew Lynn Asher purchased 17,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.14 per share, for a total transaction of $1,000,008.00. Following the completion of the purchase, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on CNC. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $90.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. StockNews.com lowered Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on Centene from $96.00 to $88.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $78.00 target price on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.92.

Centene Stock Performance

NYSE:CNC opened at $60.37 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.50. Centene Co. has a 1-year low of $57.20 and a 1-year 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 firm has a market capitalization of $30.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.48, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.49.

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.