Merit Financial Group LLC Boosts Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 127.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,060 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,630 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $5,734,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 742.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird upgraded McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $646.14.

McKesson Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $592.69 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $595.11 and its 200 day moving average is $561.34. The stock has a market cap of $75.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The firm had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.23 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

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.