McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Shares Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 8.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,935 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 875 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in McKesson were worth $7,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in McKesson by 12.8% in the fourth quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 5,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,305,000 after acquiring an additional 660 shares during the last quarter. Portfolio Design Labs LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $274,000. Warther Private Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 12.4% in the fourth quarter. Warther Private Wealth LLC now owns 22,403 shares of the company's stock valued at $12,768,000 after acquiring an additional 2,464 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 81,223 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,290,000 after acquiring an additional 16,502 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of McKesson stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $710.66. 614,234 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 914,545. McKesson Co. has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $731.00. The stock's fifty day moving average is $698.17 and its 200 day moving average is $639.78. The firm has a market cap of $88.91 billion, a PE ratio of 32.54, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.53.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.83 by $0.29. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. The business had revenue of $90.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $6.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.99%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 543 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.51, for a total value of $394,494.93. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,432,677.72. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.18, for a total value of $2,058,912.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,811,785.92. This trade represents a 53.19% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,747 shares of company stock valued at $9,852,587 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCK shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on McKesson from $642.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. UBS Group raised their price target on McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on McKesson from $691.00 to $766.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $692.46.

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.