Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 6,743 Shares of McKesson Corporation $MCK

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 61.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,678 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,743 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $12,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the 2nd quarter valued at $459,000. Highland Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 32.1% in the second quarter. Highland Capital Management LLC now owns 9,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,054,000 after acquiring an additional 2,342 shares during the period. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. increased its position in McKesson by 15.4% during the second quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 4,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,615,000 after acquiring an additional 657 shares during the period. 111 Capital raised its stake in McKesson by 163.5% in the 2nd quarter. 111 Capital now owns 1,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $921,000 after purchasing an additional 780 shares in the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 3.9% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 19,533 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,314,000 after buying an additional 733 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total value of $218,347.43. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,031.19. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total transaction of $13,716,411.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,872 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,735,884.48. The trade was a 41.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 43,560 shares of company stock valued at $30,438,602. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Down 2.7%

McKesson stock opened at $738.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $702.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $703.23. McKesson Corporation has a 12 month low of $480.39 and a 12 month high of $776.14. The company has a market capitalization of $91.79 billion, a PE ratio of 29.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 196.66% and a net margin of 0.84%.The business had revenue of $97.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $7.88 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 13.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MCK shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $820.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $821.00 to $853.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $810.00 to $857.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho raised their target price on McKesson from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $829.08.

About McKesson

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.