Cetera Investment Advisers Purchases 21,981 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 144.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 37,197 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,981 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in McKesson were worth $19,969,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in McKesson by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,362,837 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,342,190,000 after buying an additional 46,659 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth about $1,024,140,000. Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in shares of McKesson by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 1,997,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,017,000 after buying an additional 62,242 shares during the period. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the first quarter valued at approximately $669,326,000. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in McKesson by 2.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 1,118,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $600,214,000 after acquiring an additional 24,840 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MCK. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $679.00 to $694.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup raised their price objective on McKesson from $620.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on shares of McKesson from $547.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $600.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $599.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 12,752 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $558.09, for a total value of $7,116,763.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,828,886.52. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 894 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $557.40, for a total value of $498,315.60. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 16,455 shares in the company, valued at $9,172,017. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 12,752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.09, for a total transaction of $7,116,763.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,028 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,828,886.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 29,567 shares of company stock valued at $16,691,841 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of McKesson stock traded up $1.29 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $630.38. 881,722 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 666,040. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $588.74 and a 200-day moving average of $546.69. The company has a market cap of $81.91 billion, a PE ratio of 28.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $404.72 and a 12 month high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The company reported $6.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $6.34 by ($0.16). The company had revenue of $76.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $79.32 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.97% and a negative return on equity of 245.88%. McKesson’s quarterly revenue was up 10.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.19 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 31.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. This is a positive change from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.08%.

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.