Intrust Bank NA Sells 825 Shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC)

Intrust Bank NA lessened its position in Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) by 5.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,778 shares of the company’s stock after selling 825 shares during the quarter. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Centene were worth $897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNC. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Centene during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new position in shares of Centene during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Studio Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Centene in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Centene by 203.1% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 388 shares during the period. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Centene by 273.8% in the first quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 927 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 679 shares during the period. 93.63% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Centene Price Performance

Shares of CNC stock opened at $25.20 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $42.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.03. Centene Corporation has a 52-week low of $25.11 and a 52-week high of $80.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.06 and a beta of 0.40.

Centene (NYSE:CNC) last issued its earnings results on Friday, July 25th. The company reported ($0.16) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.23 by ($0.39). The company had revenue of $48.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $44.71 billion. Centene had a net margin of 1.15% and a return on equity of 9.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.42 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNC has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Centene from $48.00 to $30.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Centene from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $72.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Centene from $68.00 to $28.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Bank of America cut shares of Centene from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $30.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Centene from $45.00 to $31.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $42.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Centene

In other news, Director Theodore R. Samuels II acquired 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $27.62 per share, with a total value of $248,580.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director directly owned 32,000 shares in the company, valued at $883,840. This trade represents a 39.13% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.