Banco Santander S.A. Invests $622,000 in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Banco Santander S.A. purchased a new stake in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 7,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $622,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CNC. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Centene during the first quarter worth $25,000. Riggs Asset Managment Co. Inc. bought a new position in Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Centene in the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Access Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Centene Stock Performance

Shares of CNC traded up $0.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $66.24. 3,541,722 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,879,950. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.07. Centene Co. has a 12-month low of $60.83 and a 12-month high of $81.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.17, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.50.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 26th. The company reported $2.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.09 by $0.17. Centene had a return on equity of 14.19% and a net margin of 1.76%. The business had revenue of $40.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $36.43 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.11 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Centene Co. will post 6.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total value of $67,386.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 25,504 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Centene news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of Centene stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction of $67,386.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 25,504 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,957,432. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total value of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares in the company, valued at approximately $23,313,710.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CNC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Centene from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 30th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Centene from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. Baird R W upgraded Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $83.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Centene currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.23.

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.