Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 22,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,331,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCK. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in McKesson during the first quarter valued at approximately $669,326,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 3,621.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 349,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,572,000 after purchasing an additional 340,007 shares in the last quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. bought a new position in McKesson in the 1st quarter worth $97,510,000. Third Point LLC purchased a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at $76,392,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in McKesson by 134.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 220,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,850,000 after purchasing an additional 126,567 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MCK opened at $482.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $62.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50-day moving average is $543.03 and its 200 day moving average is $554.36. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $431.35 and a 12 month high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.21 by $0.67. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 242.57% and a net margin of 0.94%. The firm had revenue of $79.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.53 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $7.27 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.69%.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total value of $2,105,808.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MCK. Citigroup decreased their price objective on McKesson from $670.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $590.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Argus raised their price objective on shares of McKesson from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $613.36.

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.