ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in McKesson Corporation $MCK

ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 11.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 710 shares of the company’s stock after selling 90 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $520,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust grew its stake in McKesson by 64.3% in the first quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 46 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 1,366.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 44 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the first quarter worth $34,000. Flaharty Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the first quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Pandora Wealth Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the first quarter worth $40,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total value of $218,347.43. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,031.19. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total value of $13,716,411.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,735,884.48. This represents a 41.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 43,560 shares of company stock worth $30,438,602. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McKesson Price Performance

McKesson stock opened at $738.00 on Friday. McKesson Corporation has a one year low of $480.39 and a one year high of $776.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s fifty day moving average is $702.60 and its 200 day moving average is $702.96.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a net margin of 0.84% and a negative return on equity of 196.66%. The business had revenue of $97.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.88 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. McKesson’s payout ratio is 13.08%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCK. Leerink Partners increased their target price on McKesson from $785.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Saturday, September 27th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on McKesson from $772.00 to $816.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on McKesson from $820.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $829.08.

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.