McKesson Corporation $MCK Shares Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS grew its stake in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 18.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 79,210 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,300 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned 0.06% of McKesson worth $61,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in McKesson by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,072,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,846,186,000 after acquiring an additional 232,286 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 4.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,820,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,065,000 after purchasing an additional 112,224 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 150.4% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,268,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,661,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362,386 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McKesson in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,346,661,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in McKesson by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,284,881 shares of the company’s stock worth $864,712,000 after buying an additional 181,831 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $857.00 to $916.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Zacks Research downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 25th. Leerink Partners boosted their price objective on McKesson from $785.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on McKesson from $820.00 to $860.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $892.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $816.18, for a total transaction of $225,265.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,096.24. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $861.63, for a total transaction of $283,476.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,614.64. This trade represents a 50.08% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $826.64 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $102.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.41. McKesson Corporation has a 12-month low of $570.51 and a 12-month high of $895.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $834.33 and a 200 day moving average of $760.92.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.84 by $1.02. McKesson had a net margin of 1.04% and a negative return on equity of 248.14%. The firm had revenue of $103.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.07 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.21%.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company’s core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.