Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys 414 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 6.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,008 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $3,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. PFG Advisors bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. HighTower Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McKesson by 113.1% during the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 72,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,266,000 after buying an additional 38,433 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its holdings in McKesson by 21.4% during the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the period. Natural Investments LLC purchased a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Finally, King Luther Capital Management Corp increased its holdings in McKesson by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. King Luther Capital Management Corp now owns 31,172 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,765,000 after buying an additional 9,998 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCK. Mizuho began coverage on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McKesson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.79.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total transaction of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total transaction of $5,358,588.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:MCK opened at $642.65 on Friday. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $663.61. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $607.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $569.97. The company has a market capitalization of $80.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.43, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. Equities analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

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.