McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Position Boosted by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 127.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,060 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 5,630 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in McKesson were worth $5,734,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Old North State Trust LLC raised its holdings in McKesson by 1.6% in the third quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC increased its position in shares of McKesson by 1.3% in the third quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 1,525 shares of the company's stock worth $754,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. ASB Consultores LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. ASB Consultores LLC now owns 879 shares of the company's stock valued at $435,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Old Port Advisors increased its holdings in McKesson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 1,742 shares of the company's stock valued at $861,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Trading Down 0.4 %

McKesson stock traded down $2.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $592.69. The stock had a trading volume of 686,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 622,630. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $595.11 and a 200 day moving average price of $561.17. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $637.51. The stock has a market cap of $75.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The business's revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.23 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.71%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. This represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MCK. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded McKesson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners dropped their price target on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $646.14.

McKesson 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.