Bailard Inc. Boosts Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Bailard Inc. grew its position in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 71.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,599 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the period. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $1,203,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in shares of McKesson by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 153,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,919,000 after buying an additional 8,784 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in shares of McKesson by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 85,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,714,000 after buying an additional 5,425 shares in the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its position in shares of McKesson by 3.2% during the third quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $891,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays began coverage on McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $537.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho raised their target price on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $533.50.

McKesson Price Performance

MCK traded down $1.04 on Friday, hitting $538.90. The company had a trading volume of 92,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 679,455. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $527.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $488.84. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $352.34 and a 1-year high of $543.00. The stock has a market cap of $70.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The firm had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.90 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.46%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.24%.

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.