McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Shares Purchased by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 10.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,219 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in McKesson were worth $2,879,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its holdings in McKesson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 2,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in McKesson by 5.8% in the third quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in McKesson by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $680,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in McKesson by 52.2% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 36,421 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,838,000 after purchasing an additional 12,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of McKesson by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $724,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

MCK stock traded up $11.12 on Tuesday, reaching $544.53. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 983,843 shares, compared to its average volume of 705,665. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $364.08 and a 52 week high of $546.63. The company has a market capitalization of $71.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $531.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $493.81.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a net margin of 0.99% and a negative return on equity of 262.63%. The business had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total value of $1,821,762.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Argus upped their price objective on McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group upped their price target on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $536.71.

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.