Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) Holdings Lifted by Jefferies Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Cencora, Inc. by 134.7% during the first quarter, owning 22,000 shares valued at approximately $6.1 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several institutional investors have also boosted their holdings in Cencora, with 97.52% of the stock currently owned by these investors.
• Analysts have given Cencora a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price averaging $309.83, reflecting positive growth expectations.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) by 134.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,000 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 12,625 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Cencora were worth $6,118,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Cencora by 106.7% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 93 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in Cencora during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new position in shares of Cencora during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Cencora during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in Cencora during the 1st quarter valued at about $39,000. 97.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Cencora Price Performance

NYSE:COR traded up $5.17 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $293.52. 988,029 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 998,714. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $293.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $276.90. Cencora, Inc. has a 52-week low of $218.65 and a 52-week high of $309.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.87, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 6.01. The company has a market cap of $56.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.58.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.42 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.07 by $0.35. Cencora had a net margin of 0.55% and a return on equity of 344.71%. The firm had revenue of $75.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $75.41 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.80 EPS. The company's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Cencora, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Friday, May 16th were paid a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 16th. Cencora's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

COR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Cencora from $298.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Cencora from $314.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Cencora and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised Cencora from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $274.00 to $337.00 in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Cencora from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, June 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $309.83.

Insider Activity at Cencora

In other Cencora news, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 14,579 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.62, for a total transaction of $4,266,106.98. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 311,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $91,271,982.06. This trade represents a 4.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert P. Mauch sold 4,968 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $294.11, for a total value of $1,461,138.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 42,351 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,455,852.61. This trade represents a 10.50% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,125 shares of company stock worth $9,993,789. 10.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cencora Profile

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.