Legal & General Group Plc Buys New Shares in Cencora, Inc. $COR

Key Points

• Legal & General Group acquired 1,199,928 Cencora shares worth approximately $339.6 million, representing about 0.62% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 97.52% of Cencora.
• Cencora exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $4.48 in earnings per share versus the $4.35 consensus and $84.75 billion in revenue. The company also authorized a $2 billion share-buyback program and maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 13 Buy ratings and three Holds, producing a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $370.85 versus the reported share price of $328.28.

Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 1,199,928 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $339,556,000. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.62% of Cencora at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cencora in the second quarter valued at about $5,154,136,000. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Cencora by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,305,507 shares of the company's stock worth $3,142,935,000 after purchasing 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 purchasing an additional 4,123,795 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Cencora by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,459,476 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,843,268,000 after buying an additional 169,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Cencora by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,982,557 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,682,859,000 after buying an additional 304,760 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.52% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Cencora news, EVP Elizabeth S. Campbell sold 11,300 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $324.12, for a total value of $3,662,556.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,455 shares in the company, valued at $6,305,754.60. The trade was a 36.74% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lauren M. Tyler acquired 550 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $270.23 per share, with a total value of $148,626.50. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 4,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,177,932.57. This trade represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Cencora Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of COR stock opened at $328.28 on Wednesday. Cencora, Inc. has a 12-month low of $244.82 and a 12-month high of $377.54. The company has a market capitalization of $62.65 billion, a PE ratio of 24.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $304.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $311.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $84.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.31 billion. Cencora had a return on equity of 125.45% and a net margin of 0.79%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $4.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Cencora, Inc. will post 17.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Cencora announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Cencora's payout ratio is presently 17.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on COR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Cencora from $382.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Cencora from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Cencora in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 price objective on Cencora in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Cencora from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 10th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cencora currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $370.85.

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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