Lazari Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 777 McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Lazari Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 777 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $443,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in McKesson by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after purchasing an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,873,000 after acquiring an additional 26,299 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after acquiring an additional 425,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after acquiring an additional 162,688 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $594.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $75.51 billion, a PE ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $590.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $561.94. McKesson Co. has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. The firm had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.23 earnings per share. McKesson’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.72 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird upgraded McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com upgraded McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $646.14.

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.