Paladin Advisory Group LLC Decreases Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Paladin Advisory Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 292 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89 shares during the quarter. Paladin Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $135,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Fairfield Bush & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter valued at $46,000. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,192 shares of the company’s stock worth $673,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter worth $1,610,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.8% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 9,839 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,012,000 after acquiring an additional 1,490 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter worth $598,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

McKesson stock traded up $6.02 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $524.83. The company had a trading volume of 645,368 shares, compared to its average volume of 688,808. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $524.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $485.71. The firm has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $352.34 and a 12-month high of $543.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $80.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.93 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.90 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.24%.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their target price on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McKesson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $533.50.

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.