Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) Shares Sold by Banco Santander S.A.

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 59.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,226 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,701 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in Centene were worth $214,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its position 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. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on CNC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of Centene from $92.00 to $89.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Robert W. Baird initiated coverage on Centene in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a report on Monday, August 5th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Centene has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.93.

Centene Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of CNC traded up $0.12 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $78.29. The stock had a trading volume of 2,424,447 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,437,382. Centene Co. has a fifty-two week low of $60.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.42. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $41.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, July 26th. The company reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.44 by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $39.84 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.83 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 1.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.84 EPS for the current year.

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.