Wright Investors Service Inc. Acquires 1,673 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Wright Investors Service Inc. grew its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 39.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,902 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $2,733,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new position in McKesson in the 1st quarter valued at about $46,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in McKesson by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $673,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new position in McKesson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,610,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its position in shares of McKesson by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,839 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,012,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter valued at $598,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $22,789,074.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCK. Argus upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $533.50.

McKesson Stock Performance

McKesson stock traded down $5.82 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $520.10. The company had a trading volume of 134,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,400. The firm has a market cap of $68.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a 1 year low of $352.34 and a 1 year high of $543.00. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $523.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $485.48.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a net margin of 0.99% and a negative return on equity of 262.63%. The company had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.90 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.24%.

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.