Cencora (NYSE:COR) Reaches New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) shares reached a new 52-week high 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 traded. The stock had previously closed at $248.48.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on Cencora from $277.00 to $275.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on Cencora in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $280.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Cencora from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Cencora from $287.00 to $292.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Cencora from $263.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Cencora presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $277.00.

Insider Transactions at Cencora

In other news, Chairman Steven H. Collis sold 21,509 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $5,208,619.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 306,752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $74,283,064.32. The trade was a 6.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Silvana Battaglia sold 1,678 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.72, for a total transaction of $383,792.16. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 20,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,649,648.88. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 73,187 shares of company stock worth $17,790,912. Company insiders own 15.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cencora

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in COR. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Cencora by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,045,896 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,810,970,000 after buying an additional 291,867 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Cencora by 7.0% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,193,386 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,927,000 after acquiring an additional 338,452 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cencora by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,195,851 shares of the company’s stock valued at $941,183,000 after purchasing an additional 189,054 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Cencora by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,204,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $495,249,000 after buying an additional 138,868 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Cencora by 3.7% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,875,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,538,000 after buying an additional 67,287 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.52% of the company’s stock.

Cencora Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $237.51 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.84. The firm has a market cap of $48.94 billion, a PE ratio of 33.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.49.

Cencora Increases Dividend

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

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.