Principal Financial Group Inc. Buys 4,400 Shares of Cencora, Inc. $COR

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its stake in Cencora by 1.7% in the first quarter, buying 4,400 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 257,356 shares valued at about $80.8 million.
• Cencora’s latest earnings missed expectations, with EPS of $4.75 versus the $4.82 estimate and revenue of $78.36 billion versus the $81.09 billion forecast, though revenue still rose 3.9% year over year.
• The company authorized a $2 billion share buyback and continued paying dividends, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with an average price target of $367.75.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 257,356 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Cencora worth $80,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kemnay Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in Cencora during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Oakworth Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Cencora in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Elyxium Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cencora in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Archer Investment Corp increased its position in shares of Cencora by 134.3% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 82 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Cencora during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 97.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Cencora

In other Cencora news, Director Lauren M. Tyler bought 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $1,177,932.57. This represents a 14.44% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Cencora Stock Performance

Cencora stock opened at $307.80 on Friday. Cencora, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $244.82 and a fifty-two week high of $377.54. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $279.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.75. 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 stock has a market cap of $59.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.60, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 0.58.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 firm had revenue of $78.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $81.09 billion. Cencora had a return on equity of 135.20% and a net margin of 0.78%.The firm's revenue was up 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $4.42 EPS. Cencora has set its FY 2026 guidance at 17.650-17.900 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Cencora, Inc. will post 17.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cencora declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 3.9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 15th were given a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 15th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Cencora's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Cencora from $429.00 to $331.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $342.00 price target on Cencora in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price target on Cencora from $410.00 to $412.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Cencora from $425.00 to $350.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Cencora in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. They issued a "market perform" rating on the stock. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Cencora currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target 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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