Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys 68,294 Shares of McKesson Corporation $MCK

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in McKesson Corporation by 22.0%, acquiring an additional 68,294 shares, bringing its total holdings to 378,926 shares.
• McKesson recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, representing an annualized dividend of $3.28, which marks an increase from the previous quarterly dividend of $0.71.
• Research analysts have mixed ratings on McKesson, with one strong buy, nine buy ratings, and three hold ratings, while the average target price is set at $725.10.

Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 22.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 378,926 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 68,294 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 0.30% of McKesson worth $254,979,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 14.2% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,307 shares of the company's stock worth $880,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 11.6% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the company's stock worth $1,265,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 39.8% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 41,702 shares of the company's stock worth $28,065,000 after purchasing an additional 11,881 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 71,558 shares of the company's stock worth $48,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,283 shares during the period. Finally, Flaharty Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter worth $39,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK traded down $8.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $711.32. 522,385 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,488. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $697.81 and a 200-day moving average of $693.98. McKesson Corporation has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $737.89. The firm has a market cap of $88.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a net margin of 0.84% and a negative return on equity of 196.66%. The company had revenue of $97.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.88 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $810.00 price objective (up from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Thursday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $725.10.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 11,930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.63, for a total transaction of $8,418,165.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,012 shares in the company, valued at $2,830,987.56. This represents a 74.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total value of $218,347.43. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,031.19. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,560 shares of company stock worth $30,438,602. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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.