Avidity Partners Management LP Purchases 3,720 Shares of McKesson Corporation $MCK

Key Points

• Avidity Partners Management LP increased its McKesson stake by 64.1% in the fourth quarter, buying 3,720 shares to bring its total holdings to 9,520 shares valued at about $7.8 million.
• Other institutional investors also continued to build positions in McKesson, with giants like Vanguard, State Street, Geode Capital, and Franklin Resources all reporting larger holdings. Institutional investors now own 85.07% of the stock.
• McKesson’s shares have drawn mostly positive analyst coverage, with 14 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings, and the company recently beat EPS expectations in its latest quarterly results while also declaring a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share.

Avidity Partners Management LP raised its position in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 64.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,520 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 3,720 shares during the quarter. McKesson comprises about 2.3% of Avidity Partners Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Avidity Partners Management LP's holdings in McKesson were worth $7,809,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in McKesson by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,104,719 shares of the company's stock valued at $9,929,380,000 after buying an additional 73,109 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,780,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,746,118,000 after purchasing an additional 29,660 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857,344 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,333,520,000 after purchasing an additional 25,082 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,825,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,318,102,000 after purchasing an additional 144,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in McKesson by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,394,699 shares of the company's stock worth $1,850,001,000 after buying an additional 126,684 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Michele Lau sold 3,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $761.09, for a total transaction of $2,701,869.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,471,259.23. This represents a 52.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 4,929 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $763.00, for a total transaction of $3,760,827.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 22,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,430,735. This trade represents a 17.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 11,822 shares of company stock valued at $8,986,212 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $1,085.00 target price on shares of McKesson in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of McKesson from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Monday, May 18th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of McKesson from $1,050.00 to $925.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of McKesson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of McKesson from $1,107.00 to $1,015.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $960.53.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE MCK opened at $783.88 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $798.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $846.35. The firm has a market cap of $94.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.38, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.31. McKesson Corporation has a 1 year low of $637.00 and a 1 year high of $999.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $11.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $11.56 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $96.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $101.35 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 1.18% and a negative return on equity of 345.35%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $10.12 EPS. McKesson has set its FY 2027 guidance at 43.800-44.600 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that McKesson Corporation will post 44.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. McKesson's payout ratio is 8.53%.

McKesson Company Profile

McKesson Corporation NYSE: MCK is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company's core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.

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