Avanza Fonder AB Invests $7.90 Million in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 13,866 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,902,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Distillate Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 127,542.9% in the second quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 35,740 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,874,000 after purchasing an additional 35,712 shares during the period. Chase Investment Counsel Corp grew its position in shares of McKesson by 50.8% during the 2nd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,247,000 after buying an additional 3,027 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2,143.1% in the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $851,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in McKesson by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 156,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,516,000 after acquiring an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 2nd quarter valued at about $12,331,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Stock Performance

MCK opened at $586.61 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $595.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $561.06. McKesson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $464.42 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. McKesson’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.23 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Leerink Partners reduced their target price on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $646.14.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.