Cencora (NYSE:COR) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $262.56 and last traded at $261.65, with a volume of 1502754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.58.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on COR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Cencora from $289.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cencora from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Cencora from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Cencora from $237.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Cencora in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $280.00 price target on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cencora presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $277.90.

Cencora Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.40. The company has a market cap of $50.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.22, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $244.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $238.39.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.50 by $0.23. Cencora had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 328.62%. As a group, analysts predict that Cencora, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.55 per share. This represents a $2.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. Cencora’s payout ratio is 31.29%.

Insider Activity at Cencora

In other Cencora news, EVP Silvana Battaglia sold 1,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.72, for a total transaction of $383,792.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 20,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,649,648.88. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Robert P. Mauch sold 4,970 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total transaction of $1,267,350.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 51,070 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,022,850. This trade represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,648 shares of company stock valued at $2,862,342. Insiders own 10.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cencora

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hickory Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cencora during the fourth quarter valued at $572,000. Sylvest Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cencora in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,105,000. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Cencora by 124.6% during the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 20,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,549,000 after buying an additional 11,232 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Cencora by 10.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 39,457 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,881,000 after acquiring an additional 3,610 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its stake in Cencora by 46.9% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,245 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,403,000 after acquiring an additional 1,995 shares during the period. 97.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.