Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Purchases 100,093 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 66.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 251,333 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 100,093 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $143,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 742.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 51.9% during the 4th quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MCK. StockNews.com upgraded McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Leerink Partners lowered 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. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Baird R W upgraded shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.14.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK opened at $594.11 on Wednesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $595.09 and a 200-day moving average of $560.90. The company has a market capitalization of $75.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $6.23 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

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

McKesson Company 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.