BlackRock Inc. Purchases New Position in Cencora, Inc. $COR

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 18.2 million Cencora shares worth approximately $5.15 billion, giving it a 9.36% stake. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 97.52% of the company.
• Cencora reported quarterly EPS of $4.48, exceeding estimates by $0.13, while revenue rose 5.1% year over year to $84.75 billion. The company also authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program and declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.
• Analysts maintain a favorable outlook, with 13 Buy ratings and two Holds; the stock has a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $374.25, above its cited price of $316.38.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 18,213,783 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,154,136,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 9.36% of Cencora as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cencora in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new position in Cencora in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in Cencora in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Cencora by 506.2% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 97 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Cencora by 134.3% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 82 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Cencora

In related news, Director Lauren M. Tyler bought 550 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $270.23 per share, for a total transaction of $148,626.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 4,359 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,177,932.57. This represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Cencora Trading Up 1.2%

COR opened at $316.38 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $312.40. Cencora, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $244.82 and a fifty-two week high of $377.54. The company has a market cap of $60.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.48 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.35 by $0.13. Cencora had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 125.45%. The company had revenue of $84.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $84.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cencora, Inc. will post 17.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Cencora announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Cencora's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.83%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price target on Cencora from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Cencora from $331.00 to $395.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Cencora from $342.00 to $346.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on shares of Cencora in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Cencora from $412.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $374.25.

Cencora Company Profile

Cencora NYSE: COR is a global healthcare services and pharmaceutical distribution company that provides end-to-end solutions across the pharmaceutical supply chain. The company's core activities include wholesale drug distribution, specialty drug distribution, and the operation of specialty pharmacies, complemented by logistics, cold-chain management and other fulfillment services designed to support complex and temperature-sensitive therapies.

Beyond physical distribution, Cencora offers a range of commercial and patient-focused services for pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers.

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