Cencora, Inc. $COR Shares Sold by William Blair Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• William Blair Investment Management cut its Cencora stake by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, selling 10,549 shares and leaving it with 24,356 shares valued at about $8.23 million.
• Cencora’s latest quarterly results came in below expectations, with EPS of $4.75 versus $4.82 estimated and revenue of $78.36 billion versus $81.09 billion expected, though revenue still rose 3.9% year over year.
• The company’s board approved a $2 billion share repurchase program, and Cencora also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, representing a 0.9% annual yield.

William Blair Investment Management LLC lessened its position in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) by 30.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,356 shares of the company's stock after selling 10,549 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC's holdings in Cencora were worth $8,226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COR. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Cencora by 518.9% in the third quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,995,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $623,534,000 after buying an additional 1,672,762 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of Cencora by 528.9% in the third quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,475,859 shares of the company's stock valued at $461,250,000 after buying an additional 1,241,186 shares during the last quarter. Viking Global Investors LP raised its position in shares of Cencora by 95.0% in the second quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 2,081,732 shares of the company's stock valued at $624,207,000 after buying an additional 1,013,913 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cencora by 4.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,395,547 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,311,810,000 after buying an additional 916,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Cencora by 21.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,677,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,461,965,000 after buying an additional 821,098 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.52% of the company's stock.

Cencora Price Performance

Cencora stock opened at $271.84 on Wednesday. Cencora, Inc. has a 1 year low of $244.82 and a 1 year high of $377.54. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $302.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $335.67. The company has a market cap of $52.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.95.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The company reported $4.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.82 by ($0.07). Cencora had a return on equity of 135.20% and a net margin of 0.78%.The business had revenue of $78.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $81.09 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $4.42 earnings per share. Cencora's quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Cencora has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.650-17.900 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Cencora, Inc. will post 17.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Cencora announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 15th. Cencora's payout ratio is currently 18.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on COR shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Cencora from $429.00 to $331.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Evercore set a $360.00 target price on shares of Cencora in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Cencora from $417.00 to $419.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $342.00 target price on shares of Cencora in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Cencora from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cencora has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $380.25.

Cencora 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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