McKesson Corporation $MCK Shares Bought by Alliancebernstein L.P.

Key Points

• Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in McKesson Corporation by 5.9%, now owning approximately 0.72% of the company valued at $609.48 million.
• McKesson recently declared an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.82, up from $0.71, with the payout ratio at 11.32%.
• Analysts have set a consensus target price of $725.10 for McKesson, with ratings including one "Strong Buy" and nine "Buy" recommendations.

Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 905,629 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 50,297 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned 0.72% of McKesson worth $609,479,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in McKesson by 75,632.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389,992 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in McKesson in the first quarter worth $475,235,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new position in McKesson in the fourth quarter worth $348,044,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 4,559.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 427,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,840,000 after acquiring an additional 418,524 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 33.3% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,461,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $984,927,000 after acquiring an additional 365,484 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company's stock.

McKesson Trading Down 0.6%

McKesson stock traded down $4.42 during trading on Friday, hitting $687.03. 472,767 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 808,316. The business's 50 day moving average is $699.12 and its 200 day moving average is $691.13. McKesson Corporation has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $737.89. The company has a market capitalization of $85.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.39, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.51.

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

McKesson Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCK. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $810.00 target price (up from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of McKesson in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. 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. According to MarketBeat, McKesson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $725.10.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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