Qtron Investments LLC Grows Stock Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Qtron Investments LLC increased its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,723 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 383 shares during the quarter. Qtron Investments LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $1,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MCK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho upped their price objective on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Cfra Research lowered shares of McKesson from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $755.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $668.50.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total transaction of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,110 shares of company stock valued at $10,855,706 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $690.43 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $642.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $593.06. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $728.32.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s 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.