Transcend Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Transcend Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 12,407 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $823,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Centene by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Hohimer Wealth Management LLC now owns 12,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $892,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Centene by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 13,604 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Sandy Spring Bank increased its position in Centene by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 1,629 shares of the company’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Centene by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC now owns 3,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in Centene by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,910 shares of the company’s stock valued at $307,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CNC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Baird R W raised Centene to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird began coverage on Centene in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective on shares of Centene in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Centene from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $83.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Centene from $82.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.36.

Centene Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Centene stock traded up $0.06 during trading on Monday, reaching $78.15. 1,318,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,510,504. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $68.98 and its 200 day moving average is $73.63. The firm has a market cap of $41.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 0.50. Centene Co. has a 1 year low of $60.83 and a 1 year high of $81.42.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Centene news, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,957,432. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.62, for a total transaction of $620,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the president now owns 300,357 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,313,710.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Christopher J. Coughlin sold 878 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.75, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Centene Company 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.