Lazard Asset Management LLC Increases Holdings in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR)

Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR - Free Report) by 21.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 249,135 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 44,584 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Cencora worth $55,975,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in COR. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cencora by 63.0% during the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 119 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Banque Transatlantique SA bought a new stake in shares of Cencora during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Cencora in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC boosted its stake in Cencora by 85.2% during the 4th quarter. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC now owns 150 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kentucky Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Cencora in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors own 97.52% of the company's stock.

Cencora Stock Up 1.5%

NYSE:COR traded up $4.27 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $290.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,355,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,540,600. The firm has a market capitalization of $56.28 billion, a PE ratio of 41.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $279.10 and a 200-day moving average of $254.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.40. Cencora, Inc. has a 1 year low of $214.77 and a 1 year high of $309.35.

Cencora (NYSE:COR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $4.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.07 by $0.35. Cencora had a return on equity of 328.62% and a net margin of 0.46%. The firm had revenue of $75.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $75.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.80 earnings per share. Cencora's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Cencora, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Cencora Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 16th. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. Cencora's payout ratio is currently 25.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on COR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Cencora from $251.00 to $274.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Cencora from $314.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Cencora from $330.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley set a $288.00 price objective on Cencora in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Cencora from $289.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $301.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 14,579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.81, for a total value of $4,108,507.99. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 315,913 shares in the company, valued at approximately $89,027,442.53. This trade represents a 4.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert P. Mauch sold 4,969 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.33, for a total value of $1,437,680.77. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 47,582 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,766,900.06. The trade was a 9.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,223 shares of company stock worth $13,580,967 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 10.80% of the company's stock.

Cencora Company Profile

Cencora, Inc sources and distributes pharmaceutical products. The company's U.S. Healthcare Solutions segment distributes pharmaceuticals, over-the-counter healthcare products, home healthcare supplies and equipment, and related services to acute care hospitals and health systems, independent and chain retail pharmacies, mail order pharmacies, medical clinics, long-term care and alternate site pharmacies, and other customers; provides pharmacy management, staffing, and other consulting services; supply management software to retail and institutional healthcare providers; packaging solutions to various institutional and retail healthcare providers; clinical trial support, product post-approval, and commercialization support services; data analytics, outcomes research, and additional services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical manufacturers; pharmaceuticals, vaccines, parasiticides, diagnostics, micro feed ingredients, and other products to the companion animal and production animal markets; and sales force services to manufacturers.