Advisors Capital Management LLC Acquires 1,157 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 45,959 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,157 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $26,193,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 10.5% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,593 shares of the company’s stock worth $788,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in McKesson by 19.2% during the 3rd quarter. Te Ahumairangi Investment Management Ltd now owns 11,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,766,000 after purchasing an additional 1,890 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McKesson by 25.5% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 28,487 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,085,000 after acquiring an additional 5,790 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the third quarter worth $2,229,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of McKesson by 817.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,780,000 after buying an additional 5,009 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total transaction of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible 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 value of $5,382,514.26. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Insiders sold 18,110 shares of company stock worth $10,855,706 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $690.43 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $642.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $593.06. The company has a market capitalization of $86.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49. McKesson Co. has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $728.32.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho lifted their price target on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Cfra Research cut McKesson from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on McKesson from $665.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.50.

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.