Virtue Capital Management LLC Lowers Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Virtue Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,359 shares of the company’s stock after selling 149 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in McKesson by 36.9% in the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 371 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 55.8% during the 2nd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 874 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the period. Old Port Advisors boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 2.1% in the second quarter. Old Port Advisors now owns 1,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,005,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in McKesson by 6.7% during the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 6,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,563,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stanley Laman Group Ltd. raised its stake in McKesson by 2.7% during the second quarter. Stanley Laman Group Ltd. now owns 9,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,485,000 after purchasing an additional 247 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE:MCK opened at $576.40 on Thursday. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $431.35 and a 12-month high of $637.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $558.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $562.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.49.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total value of $349,026.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $869,854.83. This represents a 28.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCK. Citigroup upped their price objective on McKesson from $630.00 to $713.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $635.86.

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.