Candriam S.C.A. Boosts Holdings in McKesson Corporation $MCK

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 13.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 121,403 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,514 shares during the period. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $81,703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in McKesson by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after purchasing an additional 1,592 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC raised its position in McKesson by 16.6% during the first quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 778 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in McKesson by 18.9% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,659 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 4.3% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 183,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,332,000 after buying an additional 7,556 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 12.8% during the first quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 155,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,950,000 after buying an additional 17,750 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MCK. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $719.27.

McKesson Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE MCK opened at $676.8290 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $708.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $683.16. McKesson Corporation has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $737.89. The stock has a market cap of $84.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.99, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.50.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 196.66% and a net margin of 0.84%.The firm had revenue of $97.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total value of $13,716,411.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,735,884.48. This represents a 41.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.18, for a total transaction of $2,058,912.38. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,811,785.92. This represents a 53.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 64,204 shares of company stock valued at $45,152,392. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McKesson Company 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.