McKesson Corporation $MCK Shares Purchased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in McKesson Corporation by 5.9%, acquiring an additional 2,029 shares, bringing their total ownership to 36,175 shares valued at approximately $24.35 million.
• CEO Brian S. Tyler recently sold 19,371 shares of McKesson, marking a 41% decrease in his holdings, while insiders collectively sold 62,930 shares worth over $44 million last quarter.
• McKesson declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82, increasing from the previous $0.71, reflecting an annualized dividend of $3.28 and a yield of 0.5%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 5.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 36,175 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,029 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in McKesson were worth $24,345,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCK shares. Wall Street Zen cut McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $725.10.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $436,031.19. This trade represents a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 11,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 43,560 shares of company stock worth $30,438,602 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

McKesson Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of MCK traded down $4.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $687.03. The company had a trading volume of 472,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,316. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $699.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $690.52. McKesson Corporation has a 1-year low of $464.42 and a 1-year high of $737.89. The stock has a market cap of $85.45 billion, a PE ratio of 27.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.51.

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

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.82 dividend. 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is 13.08%.

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.