Artemis Investment Management LLP Purchases 2,374 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its position in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 14.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,239 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 2,374 shares during the quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP's holdings in McKesson were worth $10,964,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth about $212,000. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 37,460 shares of the company's stock valued at $21,349,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452 shares in the last quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of McKesson by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. HF Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,324 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 215 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 8.0% in the fourth quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the company's stock worth $2,492,000 after buying an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IAM Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. IAM Advisory LLC now owns 4,030 shares of the company's stock worth $2,297,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 approximately $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho initiated coverage on McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $630.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of McKesson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $646.14.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE MCK traded down $2.50 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $592.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 686,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,630. The company has a market cap of $75.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.52. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $595.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $561.01. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.23 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is 14.71%.

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.