National Pension Service Raises Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

National Pension Service grew its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 323,380 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 9,323 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.24% of McKesson worth $149,718,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its stake in McKesson by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,066 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,768,000 after acquiring an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in McKesson by 6.8% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 34,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,188,000 after buying an additional 2,214 shares during the period. NBT Bank N A NY purchased a new stake in McKesson in the third quarter valued at approximately $312,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,912,000. Finally, Catalyst Financial Partners LLC boosted its stake in McKesson by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Catalyst Financial Partners LLC now owns 776 shares of the company’s stock worth $337,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho boosted their price target on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Barclays increased their target price on McKesson from $571.00 to $596.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $569.86.

McKesson Stock Performance

MCK stock traded down $2.53 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $543.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,378,614 shares, compared to its average volume of 713,234. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $373.28 and a 1-year high of $566.01. The stock has a market cap of $71.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $531.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $493.81.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.34 by ($0.16). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The firm had revenue of $76.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $79.32 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $7.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 11.24%.

McKesson Company Profile

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.