Cencora, Inc. $COR Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc significantly reduced its stake in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) by 65.3%, selling 247,924 shares during the first quarter.
• Analysts have a generally positive outlook on Cencora, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target averaging $311.25.
• Cencora recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.00 for its last quarter, surpassing expectations, with revenue growing 8.7% year-over-year.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its position in shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) by 65.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 131,688 shares of the company's stock after selling 247,924 shares during the quarter. Aberdeen Group plc owned approximately 0.07% of Cencora worth $36,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in COR. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Cencora by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,543,145 shares of the company's stock worth $429,107,000 after acquiring an additional 32,141 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in Cencora by 3.6% in the first quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 2,496 shares of the company's stock worth $694,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Cencora by 9.9% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 353,841 shares of the company's stock worth $93,619,000 after acquiring an additional 31,964 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cencora by 9.3% in the first quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 3,513 shares of the company's stock worth $977,000 after buying an additional 299 shares during the period. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cencora in the first quarter worth approximately $207,000. 97.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

COR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Cencora from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price target on shares of Cencora and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Cencora from $314.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Cencora from $337.00 to $354.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Cencora from $298.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $311.25.

Insider Transactions at Cencora

In other news, CEO Robert P. Mauch sold 4,968 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.11, for a total transaction of $1,461,138.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,351 shares in the company, valued at $12,455,852.61. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 14,578 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $292.67, for a total transaction of $4,266,543.26. Following the sale, the chairman owned 309,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at $90,702,237.71. This represents a 4.49% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 34,125 shares of company stock valued at $9,993,789. 10.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Cencora Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of COR stock traded down $4.4150 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $298.8150. 376,594 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,556,363. The stock's 50 day moving average is $293.54 and its 200-day moving average is $280.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.90, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.64. The company has a market cap of $57.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.58. Cencora, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $218.65 and a fifty-two week high of $309.35.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $4.00 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.79 by $0.21. Cencora had a net margin of 0.60% and a return on equity of 267.36%. The company had revenue of $80.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $80.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.34 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Cencora, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Cencora's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.63%.

About Cencora

Cencora, Inc sources and distributes pharmaceutical products. The company's U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers; provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers; clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support services; data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers; pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and other products to the companion animal and production animal markets; and sales force services to manufacturers.