McKesson Corporation $MCK Shares Bought by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in McKesson Corporation by 42.0% during the 1st quarter, bringing its total holdings to approximately $8.85 million.
• McKesson recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, marking an increase from its previous quarterly dividend of $0.71.
• Analysts have mixed ratings on McKesson, with three firms giving it a hold rating, while eleven have issued a buy rating and one a strong buy rating.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 42.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,143 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,885 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in McKesson were worth $8,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCK. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in McKesson by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,847,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,622,754,000 after acquiring an additional 222,496 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 75,632.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company's stock worth $1,610,567,000 after buying an additional 2,389,992 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in McKesson by 9.0% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,532,203 shares of the company's stock valued at $873,218,000 after buying an additional 126,940 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its holdings in McKesson by 33.3% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,461,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $984,927,000 after buying an additional 365,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in McKesson by 9.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,103,050 shares of the company's stock valued at $628,639,000 after buying an additional 95,806 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In related news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $436,031.19. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 1,878 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.91, for a total value of $1,348,234.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 14,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,070,841.48. The trade was a 11.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 56,620 shares of company stock valued at $39,712,388 over the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on MCK shares. 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 raised their price objective on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their price target on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $725.10.

McKesson Price Performance

MCK traded up $3.3450 during trading on Thursday, reaching $706.2850. 242,875 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,145. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $707.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $683.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.50. McKesson Corporation has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $737.89.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $95.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.88 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. McKesson's payout ratio is 11.32%.

McKesson 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.