Persistent Asset Partners Ltd Sells 805 Shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)

Key Points

• Persistent Asset Partners Ltd reduced its holdings in McKesson Corporation by 23.4%, selling 805 shares to own 2,628 shares, which constitutes approximately 1.5% of its investment portfolio.
• Analysts have generally positive outlooks for McKesson, with recent upgrades from firms like Bank of America and Evercore ISI raising the target price to $800.00 and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• McKesson has announced a quarterly dividend increase to $0.82 per share, up from the previous $0.71, reflecting a commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Persistent Asset Partners Ltd decreased its holdings in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 23.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,628 shares of the company's stock after selling 805 shares during the period. McKesson comprises approximately 1.5% of Persistent Asset Partners Ltd's investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th biggest holding. Persistent Asset Partners Ltd's holdings in McKesson were worth $1,769,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in McKesson by 75,632.7% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,567,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389,992 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson in the first quarter valued at approximately $475,235,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $348,044,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 358,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $182,861,000. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other news, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 1,878 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,070,841.48. This represents a 11.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total value of $218,347.43. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares in the company, valued at $436,031.19. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 52,817 shares of company stock worth $37,461,210. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three investment 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, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $718.73.

McKesson Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $673.74 on Tuesday. McKesson Corporation has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $737.89. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $713.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $680.90. The stock has a market cap of $83.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.86, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.50.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last issued 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 firm had revenue of $97.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.93 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 196.66% and a net margin of 0.84%. McKesson's revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.88 EPS. Analysts forecast that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is 11.32%.

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.

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