Ascent Group LLC Increases Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Ascent Group LLC boosted its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 2.8% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 5,705 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 154 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $3,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCK. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 30.1% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $773,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. GM Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $249,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 22.2% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 3,300 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,528,000 after buying an additional 600 shares in the last quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 703 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, United Community Bank lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 40.7% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 311 shares of the company’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK opened at $488.25 on Friday. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $431.35 and a 1-year high of $637.51. The company has a 50-day moving average of $550.84 and a 200 day moving average of $555.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.21 by $0.67. McKesson had a net margin of 0.94% and a negative return on equity of 242.57%. The company had revenue of $79.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.53 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This is a positive change from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. McKesson’s payout ratio is 12.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.03, for a total transaction of $2,349,490.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,546,684.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 11,259 shares of company stock worth $6,635,492 in the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCK. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $656.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $531.00 price objective (down previously from $603.00) on shares of McKesson in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $596.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $613.36.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation provides healthcare services in the United States and internationally. It operates through four segments: U.S. Pharmaceutical, Prescription Technology Solutions (RxTS), Medical-Surgical Solutions, and International. The U.S. Pharmaceutical segment distributes branded, generic, specialty, biosimilar and over-the-counter pharmaceutical drugs, and other healthcare-related products.