Sandy Spring Bank Has $121,000 Holdings in Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC)

Sandy Spring Bank grew its position in shares of Centene Co. (NYSE:CNC) by 10.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,629 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 150 shares during the quarter. Sandy Spring Bank’s holdings in Centene were worth $121,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in CNC. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its stake in shares of Centene by 1,401.4% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 46,333 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,901,000 after purchasing an additional 43,247 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. increased its position in Centene by 7.2% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 9,734 shares of the company’s stock worth $841,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its position in shares of Centene by 104.7% in the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 43,760 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,684,000 after buying an additional 22,382 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 1st quarter worth about $203,000. Finally, Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. increased its holdings in shares of Centene by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Candriam Luxembourg S.C.A. now owns 37,404 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,414 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CNC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Centene from $94.00 to $89.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 8th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Centene from $72.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 21st. StockNews.com cut shares of Centene from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on Centene from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 21st. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Centene in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.08.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In other news, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total transaction of $900,840.00. Following the sale, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Lori Jean Robinson sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.41, for a total value of $774,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 11,455 shares in the company, valued at approximately $886,731.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, President Kenneth J. Fasola sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.07, for a total value of $900,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 235,365 shares in the company, valued at $17,668,850.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Centene Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of CNC stock opened at $70.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.11. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.80 and a 200-day moving average of $74.44. Centene Co. has a 52-week low of $60.83 and a 52-week high of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $37.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.38.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $39.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $36.16 billion. Centene had a return on equity of 14.26% and a net margin of 1.75%. The business’s revenue was up 11.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.86 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Centene Co. will post 6.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.