Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. Acquires New Stake in Centene Corporation $CNC

Posted by Stanley Muller on Oct 14th, 2026

Wetzel Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC – Free Report) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 9,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $614,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new position in Centene during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $257,279,000. Hara Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth $5,222,000. Paralel Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth $4,531,000. Roberts Glore & Co. Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter worth $1,659,000. Finally, Heartland Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Centene during the second quarter valued at $9,764,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.63% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Centene

In related news, General Counsel Christopher Koster sold 56,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.90, for a total transaction of $3,779,850.00. Following the transaction, the general counsel directly owned 248,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,648,332.60. The trade was a 18.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CNC has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $66.00 target price on Centene in a research report on Wednesday, July 29th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Centene from $71.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Argus upgraded Centene from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $69.00 price target on Centene and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group set a $79.00 price objective on Centene in a report on Tuesday, August 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $70.05.

Get Our Latest Analysis on CNC

Key Stories Impacting Centene

Here are the key news stories impacting Centene this week:

Positive Sentiment: Centene will launch a nationwide performance-based Gold Card Program in November 2026. The program will initially cover more than 160,000 qualifying providers and streamline prior-authorization reviews for certain outpatient services while maintaining clinical and quality standards. Investors may view the initiative as a way to reduce administrative friction, improve provider relationships and support operating efficiency. Centene to Launch Nationwide Gold Card Program for Qualifying Providers
Positive Sentiment: Additional bullish discussion highlighted Centene’s redemption of its remaining 2027 notes, expansion of primary-care capabilities and the Gold Card rollout. These developments reinforce a recovery narrative centered on lower debt, simpler administration and improving margins ahead of the company’s late-October earnings report. Centene Is Up After Gold Card, Debt Redemption and Primary Care Expansion News
Positive Sentiment: PA Health & Wellness, a Centene subsidiary, was recognized by the National Committee for Quality Assurance as one of the top 17 Medicaid health plans in the United States for the second consecutive year. The recognition supports Centene’s quality credentials in its core Medicaid business, although the direct financial impact is limited. PA Health & Wellness Earns National Recognition Among Top Medicaid Health Plans
Neutral Sentiment: CEO Sarah London said artificial intelligence should improve access for Medicaid patients, including those in medical-care deserts, rather than merely reduce billing costs. The comments support Centene’s longer-term innovation strategy, but no specific financial targets or implementation details were announced. Centene CEO Sarah London Discusses Medicaid and AI
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst commentary from Zacks favored Centene over Molina Healthcare, citing CNC’s diversified business, improving margins, lower valuation and stronger expected earnings prospects. However, the cited median analyst price target of $62 is below the stock’s recent trading level, potentially limiting near-term upside.
Negative Sentiment: Reported insider activity over the past six months consisted of sales rather than purchases, including sales by executives Christopher Koster and Kenneth Burdick. Insider selling does not necessarily signal deteriorating fundamentals, but it is a modest sentiment headwind.

Centene Trading Up 2.8%

Shares of Centene stock opened at $68.89 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.15 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.15. Centene Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $31.63 and a fifty-two week high of $69.70. The company has a market cap of $34.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -6.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 1.13.

Centene (NYSE:CNC – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 27th. The company reported $2.51 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.09 by $1.42. The business had revenue of $53.58 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $47.64 billion. Centene had a positive return on equity of 12.12% and a negative net margin of 2.51%. The business’s revenue was up 9.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($0.16) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Centene Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Centene Company Profile

(Free Report)

Centene Corporation (NYSE:CNC) is a healthcare enterprise that provides health insurance and related services, primarily through government-sponsored programs. Its offerings include Medicaid plans, Medicare products, health plans sold through the Affordable Care Act marketplace, and services for military families through government-sponsored healthcare programs.

The company also provides pharmacy, behavioral health, specialty healthcare, care management and administrative services through various subsidiaries and partner organizations.