McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) Position Lifted by Castellan Group

Key Points

• Castellan Group increased its holdings in McKesson Corporation by 80% in Q1, owning 18,438 shares valued at approximately $12.4 million, making McKesson 3.5% of its portfolio.
• McKesson announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.71 to $0.82 per share, with an annual yield of 0.5% and a low payout ratio of 12.7%.
• Analysts have boosted their target prices for McKesson, with Bank of America setting a target of $800.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" among 15 analysts.

Castellan Group lifted its stake in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 80.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,438 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,194 shares during the period. McKesson comprises about 3.5% of Castellan Group's investment portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Castellan Group's holdings in McKesson were worth $12,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,179 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,231,000 after purchasing an additional 1,413 shares during the period. Summit Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 1,347 shares of the company's stock valued at $769,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 3,773 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the period. Finally, Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 6,364 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,627,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of MCK stock traded up $4.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $698.43. The stock had a trading volume of 960,996 shares, compared to its average volume of 561,144. The business's fifty day moving average is $716.92 and its 200-day moving average is $674.88. The firm has a market cap of $87.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 1.40 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.83 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $90.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 201.12% and a net margin of 0.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. McKesson's payout ratio is 10.99%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 1,878 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.91, for a total transaction of $1,348,234.98. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,070,841.48. This trade represents a 11.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.18, for a total value of $2,058,912.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,811,785.92. This represents a 53.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 52,488 shares of company stock worth $37,242,862 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on MCK. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $810.00 target price (up previously from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Bank of America upped their target price on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Cfra Research lowered McKesson from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 target price on McKesson and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $710.17.

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.