Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. Takes Position in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR)

Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 52,810 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,832,000. Cencora makes up 1.2% of Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in COR. Capital City Trust Co. FL acquired a new stake in Cencora in the 1st quarter valued at $1,085,000. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Cencora in the 1st quarter worth about $191,309,000. Staley Capital Advisers Inc. bought a new position in Cencora in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,989,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Cencora during the 1st quarter valued at about $642,000. Finally, Bard Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Cencora during the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,019,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 97.52% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Cencora

In related news, EVP Gina Clark sold 1,874 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.86, for a total transaction of $419,513.64. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,756.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Dermot Mark Durcan purchased 500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 24th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $218.58 per share, with a total value of $109,290.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $4,781,656.08. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Gina Clark sold 1,874 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $223.86, for a total transaction of $419,513.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,284 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,973,756.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 1,956,675 shares of company stock valued at $422,352,056 over the last three months. Company insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Cencora Stock Performance

Cencora stock traded up $0.95 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $222.95. The stock had a trading volume of 233,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,373,380. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.47 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.45. Cencora, Inc. has a 12 month low of $171.65 and a 12 month high of $246.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.41. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $226.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $229.13.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $3.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $68.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.60 billion. Cencora had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 268.67%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.50 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Cencora, Inc. will post 13.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Cencora’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.32%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. SVB Leerink restated an “outperform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on shares of Cencora in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Cencora from $265.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Cencora from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Cencora from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $236.10.

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.