Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Invests $212,000 in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 372 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $212,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Old North State Trust LLC increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its position in McKesson by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the period. Black Diamond Financial LLC increased its holdings in McKesson by 1.3% in the third quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 1,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $754,000 after buying an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. QV Investors Inc. raised its position in shares of McKesson by 0.6% in the third quarter. QV Investors Inc. now owns 3,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Finally, ASB Consultores LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. ASB Consultores LLC now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on MCK shares. Citigroup cut their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird raised McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partners cut their price target 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, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $646.14.

McKesson Price Performance

MCK opened at $592.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $595.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $561.34. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $464.42 and a 1-year high of $637.51.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,890.56. This represents a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.