Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Acquires 29,955 Shares of Cencora, Inc. $COR

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners sharply increased its stake in Cencora, buying 29,955 shares in the fourth quarter and lifting its holdings to 34,067 shares worth about $11.5 million.
• Cencora’s stock fell 1.8% to $271.99, while the company reported mixed quarterly results: EPS of $4.75 missed estimates, and revenue of $78.36 billion also came in below expectations, though sales still rose 3.9% year over year.
• The company recently announced a $2.0 billion share buyback and a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, while analysts currently view the stock as a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $374.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its holdings in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) by 728.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,067 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 29,955 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in Cencora were worth $11,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of COR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Cencora by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 23,617,117 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,976,681,000 after purchasing an additional 221,570 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Cencora by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,305,507 shares of the company's stock worth $3,142,935,000 after buying an additional 115,191 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cencora by 160.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,700,091 shares of the company's stock worth $2,262,956,000 after acquiring an additional 4,123,795 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Cencora by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,459,476 shares of the company's stock worth $1,843,268,000 after acquiring an additional 169,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Cencora by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,982,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,682,859,000 after acquiring an additional 304,760 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.52% of the company's stock.

Cencora Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE:COR opened at $271.99 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a current ratio of 0.95 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The company's fifty day moving average price is $285.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $324.72. Cencora, Inc. has a 1-year low of $244.82 and a 1-year high of $377.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.59.

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

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 15th were issued a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. Cencora's payout ratio is 18.40%.

Cencora declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on COR. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Cencora from $420.00 to $339.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Leerink Partners restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Cencora in a research note on Tuesday, March 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $342.00 target price on Cencora in a research report on Friday, May 8th. William Blair initiated coverage on Cencora in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Cencora from $405.00 to $355.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Cencora presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $374.00.

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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