AustralianSuper Pty Ltd Takes $15.81 Million Position in McKesson Corporation $MCK

AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 20,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,806,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,072,090 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,846,186,000 after purchasing an additional 232,286 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 4.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,820,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,065,000 after acquiring an additional 112,224 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in McKesson by 150.4% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,268,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,661,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,386 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McKesson in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,346,661,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in McKesson by 56.4% in the 2nd quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,236,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,109,000 after acquiring an additional 446,060 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 276 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $816.18, for a total transaction of $225,265.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,851,096.24. The trade was a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $861.63, for a total transaction of $283,476.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 328 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $282,614.64. This trade represents a 50.08% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MCK shares. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on McKesson from $820.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $966.00 price objective on shares of McKesson in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird set a $968.00 target price on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $899.36.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $820.85 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $828.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $772.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $101.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.55, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.41. McKesson Corporation has a 1 year low of $570.51 and a 1 year high of $895.58.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.84 by $1.02. McKesson had a net margin of 1.04% and a negative return on equity of 248.14%. The firm had revenue of $103.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.07 earnings per share. McKesson’s revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.21%.

McKesson Profile

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company’s core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.