Simon Quick Advisors LLC Increases Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 55.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,034 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the quarter. Simon Quick Advisors LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCK. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in McKesson by 75,632.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389,992 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter worth about $1,200,361,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter worth about $348,044,000. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in McKesson by 59,720.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 358,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,553,000 after purchasing an additional 358,322 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC purchased a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter worth about $182,861,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Up 1.8%

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $730.39 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $91.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50 day moving average is $701.80 and its 200 day moving average is $643.67. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $731.18.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.83 by $0.29. McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. The company had revenue of $90.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.39%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 10.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MCK shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 price target on shares of McKesson and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $745.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $694.38.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 543 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.51, for a total transaction of $394,494.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 1,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,677.72. This trade represents a 21.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 341 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.91, for a total transaction of $244,807.31. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,800 shares in the company, valued at $2,010,148. The trade was a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,117 shares of company stock worth $23,526,451 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.