Great Lakes Advisors LLC Makes New $97.49 Million Investment in Cencora, Inc. $COR

Great Lakes Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Cencora, Inc. (NYSE:COR) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 344,507 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,489,000.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of COR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Cencora in the second quarter valued at $5,154,136,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Cencora by 160.1% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 6,700,091 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,262,956,000 after buying an additional 4,123,795 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cencora during the 4th quarter worth about $822,506,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cencora during the 2nd quarter worth about $483,772,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in shares of Cencora by 518.9% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,995,118 shares of the company’s stock valued at $623,534,000 after acquiring an additional 1,672,762 shares during the last quarter. 97.52% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cencora Price Performance

COR stock opened at $316.38 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.53. The company has a market capitalization of $60.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.57. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $300.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $312.40. Cencora, Inc. has a twelve month low of $244.82 and a twelve month high of $377.54.

Cencora (NYSE:COR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $4.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.35 by $0.13. Cencora had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 125.45%. The business had revenue of $84.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $84.31 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cencora, Inc. will post 17.87 EPS for the current year.

Cencora Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 14th will be paid a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 14th. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Cencora’s payout ratio is currently 17.83%.

Cencora declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, May 21st that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 3.9% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

COR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cencora from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Robert W. Baird set a $370.00 target price on shares of Cencora in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Evercore reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price on shares of Cencora in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Cencora from $280.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Cencora from $331.00 to $395.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cencora news, Director Lauren M. Tyler bought 550 shares of Cencora stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $270.23 per share, with a total value of $148,626.50. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 4,359 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,177,932.57. This represents a 14.44% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.38% of the company’s stock.

Cencora Profile

Cencora (NYSE:COR) is a global healthcare services and pharmaceutical distribution company that provides end-to-end solutions across the pharmaceutical supply chain. The company’s core activities include wholesale drug distribution, specialty drug distribution, and the operation of specialty pharmacies, complemented by logistics, cold-chain management and other fulfillment services designed to support complex and temperature-sensitive therapies.

Beyond physical distribution, Cencora offers a range of commercial and patient-focused services for pharmaceutical manufacturers and healthcare providers.