Essential Planning LLC. Invests $6 Million in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Essential Planning LLC. acquired a new position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,725 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,996,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,144,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,008 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,994,000 after buying an additional 414 shares during the last quarter. PFG Advisors purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at about $228,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 113.1% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 72,408 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,266,000 after buying an additional 38,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 21.4% during the 4th quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,474 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 60,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. This represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,689 shares of company stock valued at $11,187,351 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McKesson Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $653.54 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $81.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $663.61. The business’s 50 day moving average is $604.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $568.96.

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

McKesson Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com cut McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.79.

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.