Westpac Banking Corp Invests $4.86 Million in Cencora, Inc. $COR

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new $4.86 million stake in Cencora, purchasing 17,177 shares during the second quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 97.52% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with 13 Buy ratings and three Holds. Cencora has a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $370.85.
• Cencora exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $4.48 in EPS and $84.75 billion in revenue. The company also declared a $0.60 quarterly dividend and authorized a $2 billion share-repurchase program.

Westpac Banking Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 17,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,861,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. bought a new position in Cencora in the second quarter valued at $518,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Cencora during the second quarter worth about $785,000. Korea Investment CORP purchased a new position in shares of Cencora in the 2nd quarter worth about $8,247,000. Ieq Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Cencora during the 2nd quarter valued at about $285,000. Finally, Callan Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of Cencora during the 2nd quarter valued at about $13,661,000. 97.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

COR has been the topic of a number of research reports. William Blair started coverage on Cencora in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. They set a "market perform" rating on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Cencora in a research report on Wednesday. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $330.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Cencora from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 8th. Citigroup restated a "buy" rating on shares of Cencora in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Cencora from $382.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Thirteen equities 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $370.85.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cencora

In other news, Director Lauren M. Tyler bought 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $270.23 per share, for a total transaction of $148,626.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,359 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,177,932.57. This trade represents a 14.44% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company's stock.

Cencora Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of Cencora stock opened at $317.89 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.93. Cencora, Inc. has a 52-week low of $244.82 and a 52-week high of $377.54. The company's 50 day moving average price is $302.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $311.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $60.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.62, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.57.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $84.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $84.31 billion. Cencora had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 125.45%. The firm's revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.00 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Cencora, Inc. will post 17.87 EPS for the current year.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 14th. Cencora's dividend payout ratio is 17.83%.

Cencora announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 21st that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding COR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source