Cetera Investment Advisers Raises Stock Position in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in McKesson Corporation by 11.4%, owning 37,515 shares valued at over $25 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• McKesson recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.71 per share, translating to an annual yield of 0.40% with a low payout ratio of 10.99%.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $710.17 for McKesson stock, reflecting a "Moderate Buy" rating by most research firms involved.

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 11.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,515 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 3,847 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in McKesson were worth $25,247,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 1,366.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 44 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its stake in McKesson by 1,840.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 97 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $76,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 350.0% during the fourth quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 144 shares of the company's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on MCK shares. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $810.00 price objective (up previously from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Mizuho upped their price objective on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 price objective on McKesson and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $710.17.

McKesson Stock Down 1.0%

McKesson stock traded down $7.00 during trading on Thursday, hitting $707.92. The stock had a trading volume of 239,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 872,232. McKesson Corporation has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $737.89. The stock's 50 day moving average is $717.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $674.13. The stock has a market cap of $88.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.48.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.83 by $0.29. The firm 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a positive change from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.99%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.18, for a total transaction of $2,058,912.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,811,785.92. This trade represents a 53.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 543 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.51, for a total transaction of $394,494.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,432,677.72. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,488 shares of company stock valued at $37,242,862 in the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.