Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 127 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,825 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the period. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $5,029,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Creative Capital Management Investments LLC bought a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $643.69 on Wednesday. McKesson Co. has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $653.92. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $596.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $565.63. The stock has a market cap of $80.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. Analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total transaction of $5,382,514.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,820,952.50. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,268 shares of company stock valued at $11,536,378. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on MCK shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho started coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price for the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.79.

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.