Virtu Financial LLC Makes New $570,000 Investment in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $570,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MCK. FMR LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,873,000 after purchasing an additional 26,299 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 55.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after purchasing an additional 425,875 shares during the period. Boston Partners boosted its position in McKesson by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,096,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,501,000 after buying an additional 216,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in McKesson by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after buying an additional 162,688 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total transaction of $5,382,514.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,820,952.50. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on MCK shares. StockNews.com cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.36.

McKesson Price Performance

McKesson stock opened at $662.71 on Wednesday. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $670.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.05 billion, a PE ratio of 30.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $619.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $576.50.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

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.