Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Purchases New Stake in Cencora, Inc. $COR

Key Points

• Manning & Napier Advisors disclosed a new position in Cencora during Q1, buying 81,156 shares worth about $25.5 million.
• Cencora recently reported mixed quarterly results, with EPS of $4.75 and revenue of $78.36 billion both missing analyst estimates, though revenue still rose 3.9% year over year.
• The company announced a $2 billion share buyback and paid a quarterly dividend of $0.60 per share, while analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with a consensus target price of $367.75.

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 81,156 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $25,494,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of COR. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Cencora in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cencora during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cencora in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cencora by 134.3% in the 4th quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 82 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cencora in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.52% of the company's stock.

Cencora Price Performance

NYSE:COR traded up $0.85 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $303.31. 761,459 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,586,448. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.40, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.95. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $277.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $318.98. Cencora, Inc. has a 1 year low of $244.82 and a 1 year high of $377.54. The company has a market cap of $59.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Cencora announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Friday, May 15th were paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Cencora's dividend payout ratio is presently 18.40%.

Insider Transactions at Cencora

In related news, Director Lauren M. Tyler bought 550 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $270.23 per share, for a total transaction of $148,626.50. Following the acquisition, the director owned 4,359 shares in the company, valued at $1,177,932.57. This represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on COR. Leerink Partners reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Cencora in a report on Tuesday, March 17th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cencora from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 24th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Cencora from $405.00 to $355.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Cencora from $410.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $367.75.

Cencora 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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