Scotia Capital Inc. Lowers Holdings in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)

Key Points

• Scotia Capital Inc. reduced its stake in McKesson Corporation by 3.7%, ending the first quarter with holdings valued at $14.4 million after selling 824 shares.
• Despite Scotia's decrease, other institutional investors significantly increased their positions in McKesson, including GAMMA Investing with a 75,632.7% increase in their holdings.
• McKesson announced a quarterly dividend of $0.82, up from the previous $0.71, representing a dividend yield of 0.5% as it continues to align with its growth strategy.

Scotia Capital Inc. cut its stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 3.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,400 shares of the company's stock after selling 824 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.'s holdings in McKesson were worth $14,402,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 46.3% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the company's stock worth $1,438,000 after purchasing an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in McKesson by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,179 shares of the company's stock worth $5,231,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares in the last quarter. Smith Moore & CO. purchased a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $209,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,898,000. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in McKesson by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 8,903 shares of the company's stock worth $5,074,000 after buying an additional 792 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total value of $13,716,411.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,735,884.48. This represents a 41.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,811,785.92. The trade was a 53.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,488 shares of company stock worth $37,242,862 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on MCK shares. UBS Group upped their target price on McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock 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. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective (up previously from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $710.17.

McKesson Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:MCK traded down $1.79 on Tuesday, hitting $709.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,003,961 shares, compared to its average volume of 600,613. The stock has a market cap of $88.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.50. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $716.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $677.63. McKesson Corporation has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $737.89.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 quarterly revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.