HighTower Advisors LLC Purchases 1,460 Shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McKesson Corporation by 2.0% in the first quarter, owning 73,868 shares valued at approximately $49.7 million.
• McKesson announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.71 to $0.82 per share, with the dividend payout scheduled for October 1st.
• Despite reporting Q1 earnings of $8.26 per share, McKesson missed analysts' expectations by $0.07, though it achieved a 23.4% year-over-year revenue increase.

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 73,868 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of McKesson worth $49,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $1,610,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389,992 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in McKesson in the first quarter worth $475,235,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at $348,044,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of McKesson by 59,720.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 358,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,553,000 after purchasing an additional 358,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth about $182,861,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company's stock.

McKesson Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of MCK traded down $0.96 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $672.86. 630,704 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 883,823. The stock has a market cap of $83.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.50. McKesson Corporation has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $737.89. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $709.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $681.59.

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

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is currently 11.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 1,248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.30, for a total value of $895,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,880,043.30. This trade represents a 32.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total transaction of $13,716,411.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,872 shares in the company, valued at $19,735,884.48. This trade represents a 41.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,817 shares of company stock valued at $37,461,210 in the last three months. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen cut McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $719.27.

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.