Cencora (NYSE:COR) Reaches New 1-Year High on Analyst Upgrade

Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $289.00 to $301.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Cencora traded as high as $254.49 and last traded at $253.21, with a volume of 257351 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $248.48.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on COR. Leerink Partners cut their target price on Cencora from $277.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Cencora from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Cencora from $249.00 to $237.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Cencora from $263.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Cencora from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $277.00.

Insider Transactions at Cencora

In other news, EVP Silvana Battaglia sold 1,678 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.72, for a total value of $383,792.16. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 20,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,649,648.88. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.97, for a total value of $12,198,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 326,557 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $79,670,111.29. This trade represents a 13.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 73,187 shares of company stock worth $17,790,912. 15.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cencora

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Cencora by 124.6% in the 4th quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC now owns 20,249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,549,000 after acquiring an additional 11,232 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Cencora by 10.1% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 39,457 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,881,000 after buying an additional 3,610 shares during the period. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cencora by 71.1% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 7,048 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928 shares during the period. Portfolio Design Labs LLC bought a new stake in Cencora in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,404,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Cencora by 40.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,077,272 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,173,000 after purchasing an additional 308,773 shares during the last quarter. 97.52% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cencora Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $48.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $237.51 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $234.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.84, a current ratio of 0.88 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Cencora Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 29th. Investors of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.55 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 15th. This is an increase from Cencora’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio is 29.29%.

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.