Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Boosts Stake in McKesson Corporation $MCK

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 3.4% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 28,236 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 935 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $21,335,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in McKesson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MCK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $875.00 price target on shares of McKesson in a report on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of McKesson from $945.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada initiated coverage on McKesson in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $845.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on McKesson from $1,107.00 to $1,015.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on McKesson from $989.00 to $1,006.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $973.44.

McKesson News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting McKesson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion into precision medicine: McKesson agreed to acquire privately held Precision Medicine Group for approximately $2.25 billion. Precision Medicine provides clinical research, laboratory testing and commercialization services for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, giving McKesson greater exposure to oncology, personalized medicine and specialty care. McKesson Doubles Down on Healthcare Growth With Precision Medicine Acquisition
• Positive Sentiment: Higher-growth service mix: The acquisition is expected to strengthen McKesson’s clinical research and commercialization capabilities and deepen relationships with biopharmaceutical companies and oncology practices. Investors may view the transaction as a way to reduce reliance on lower-margin pharmaceutical distribution and participate in growth tied to new drug development. What Does McKesson Gain From Its Push Into Oncology And Clinical Research?
• Neutral Sentiment: Portfolio repositioning amid workforce changes: Coverage noted layoffs at Rx Savings while McKesson plans the Precision Medicine acquisition. The combination highlights an ongoing reallocation of resources, although the near-term effect on earnings and integration costs remains uncertain. Amid Layoffs, McKesson Plans Acquisition
• Negative Sentiment: Cybersecurity incident disclosed: McKesson reported discovering a cybersecurity incident on August 25 after the ShinyHunters group claimed it had stolen patient data. The company’s investigation and any resulting regulatory, remediation, privacy or reputational costs could weigh on sentiment, although the ultimate scope and financial impact were not yet clear. McKesson Discloses Breach After ShinyHunters Claims Patient Data Theft

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 133 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.00, for a total transaction of $101,612.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 632 shares in the company, valued at $482,848. The trade was a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 699 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.27, for a total value of $513,953.73. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,667,592.36. The trade was a 23.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 23,111 shares of company stock valued at $18,011,274 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

MCK opened at $895.59 on Friday. McKesson Corporation has a 1 year low of $679.65 and a 1 year high of $999.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $833.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $844.13. The company has a market cap of $104.42 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.30.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $9.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.56 by $0.37. McKesson had a net margin of 1.12% and a negative return on equity of 253.21%. The firm had revenue of $105.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $8.26 earnings per share. McKesson’s revenue was up 7.7% compared to the same quarter last year. McKesson has set its FY 2027 guidance at 44.200-45.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McKesson Corporation will post 44.65 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is a positive change from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.78%.

McKesson Profile

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.