Cencora (NYSE:COR) Hits New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Cencora Stock Down 2.6 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $49.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.11, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $245.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $238.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.40, a current ratio of 0.92 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $3.73 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that Cencora, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.55 dividend. This represents a $2.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Silvana Battaglia sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.24, for a total value of $1,211,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,374 shares in the company, valued at $3,724,197.76. This represents a 24.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Robert P. Mauch sold 4,970 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.00, for a total value of $1,267,350.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 51,070 shares in the company, valued at $13,022,850. This represents a 8.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,648 shares of company stock worth $3,382,462 over the last 90 days. 10.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cencora

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Cencora in the 4th quarter worth about $478,309,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Cencora by 6,855.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,065,374 shares of the company’s stock worth $464,874,000 after buying an additional 2,035,679 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Cencora by 62.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 5,193,807 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,166,944,000 after acquiring an additional 1,994,256 shares in the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cencora in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $399,508,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Cencora in the fourth quarter worth approximately $322,460,000. 97.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Cencora

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.