Trust Investment Advisors Purchases New Shares in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Trust Investment Advisors acquired a new position in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 590 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new position in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter worth about $46,000. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 4.0% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,610,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the first quarter worth approximately $598,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCK shares. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. SVB Leerink started coverage on McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $533.50.

McKesson Stock Down 1.4 %

MCK stock traded down $7.11 during trading on Thursday, hitting $518.81. The company had a trading volume of 631,236 shares, compared to its average volume of 689,383. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $523.95 and a 200-day moving average price of $485.48. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $352.34 and a 1-year high of $543.00. The firm has a market cap of $68.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a net margin of 0.99% and a negative return on equity of 262.63%. The company had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.90 EPS. McKesson’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.24%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $22,789,074.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.