Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Lowers Stock Position in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)

Key Points

• Empirical Financial Services LLC reduced its stake in McKesson Corporation by 66.7% during the 1st quarter, holding 10,590 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million.
• McKesson Corporation has recently increased its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, up from $0.71, which reflects a dividend yield of 0.46%.
• Recent analyst ratings for McKesson include a price target increase from $755.00 to $800.00 by Bank of America, along with various ratings ranging from "hold" to "strong buy" across multiple firms.

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management decreased its position in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 66.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,590 shares of the company's stock after selling 21,211 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management's holdings in McKesson were worth $7,127,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 54.0% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,541 shares of the company's stock worth $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its holdings in McKesson by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 778 shares of the company's stock worth $524,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in McKesson by 18.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,033 shares of the company's stock valued at $15,501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,659 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 183,258 shares of the company's stock worth $123,332,000 after purchasing an additional 7,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 155,946 shares of the company's stock worth $104,950,000 after acquiring an additional 17,750 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their price objective on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 price objective on McKesson and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cfra Research cut McKesson from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $710.17.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.18, for a total transaction of $2,058,912.38. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,811,785.92. This trade represents a 53.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 1,248 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,043.30. The trade was a 32.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,488 shares of company stock valued at $37,242,862 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of McKesson stock traded up $4.89 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $698.43. 960,996 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 561,144. McKesson Corporation has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $737.89. The stock's fifty day moving average is $716.58 and its 200 day moving average is $675.60. The firm has a market cap of $87.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.04, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $90.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 201.12% and a net margin of 0.92%. McKesson's revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.18 earnings per share. Research analysts expect 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 $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.99%.

About McKesson

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.