Cencora, Inc. $COR Stock: Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Trims Stake

Key Points

• Jefferies cut its Cencora stake by 43.2% in the third quarter, selling 70,817 shares; it retained 93,000 shares valued at about $27.9 million.
• Cencora beat quarterly estimates, reporting adjusted earnings of $4.66 per share and revenue of $88.35 billion, up 5.5% year over year. The company also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.60 to $0.66 per share.
• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus, with an average price target of $368.14; 12 analysts rate the stock Buy and four rate it Hold.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) by 43.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 93,000 shares of the company's stock after selling 70,817 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Cencora were worth $27,923,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cencora in the second quarter valued at $5,154,136,000. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Cencora by 6.9% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 4,138,388 shares of the company's stock worth $1,300,033,000 after buying an additional 267,318 shares in the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Cencora by 43.5% during the second quarter. Amundi now owns 2,229,326 shares of the company's stock worth $630,855,000 after buying an additional 676,066 shares in the last quarter. Carmignac Gestion boosted its stake in Cencora by 58.7% during the second quarter. Carmignac Gestion now owns 1,747,363 shares of the company's stock worth $494,463,000 after buying an additional 646,112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Cencora by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,549,047 shares of the company's stock valued at $486,576,000 after buying an additional 35,569 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.52% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cencora news, EVP Elizabeth Campbell sold 11,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.12, for a total transaction of $3,662,556.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 19,455 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,305,754.60. This represents a 36.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Cencora Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE COR opened at $349.96 on Thursday. Cencora, Inc. has a 52-week low of $244.82 and a 52-week high of $377.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.94. The business has a fifty day moving average of $326.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $317.22. The stock has a market cap of $66.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.58.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The company reported $4.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.58 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $88.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $87.95 billion. Cencora had a net margin of 1.03% and a return on equity of 110.72%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.84 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cencora, Inc. will post 19.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cencora Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Cencora's previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. Cencora's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $350.00 price objective (up from $330.00) on shares of Cencora in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Cencora from $285.00 to $310.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cencora from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 6th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Cencora in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Cencora from $346.00 to $377.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $368.14.

Cencora Profile

Cencora, formerly known as AmerisourceBergen, is a global pharmaceutical services company that connects pharmaceutical manufacturers with healthcare providers. Its core business includes sourcing and distributing medicines and other healthcare products to pharmacies, hospitals, health systems and other care providers. The company also provides services supporting specialty pharmaceuticals, including logistics, consulting and solutions for manufacturers and healthcare organizations. These services help manage the handling and delivery of complex medicines and support access to treatments.

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