Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. Boosts Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. lifted its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 321.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 8,432 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,431 shares during the quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $3,885,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in McKesson by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,148,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,238,953,000 after buying an additional 708,438 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in McKesson by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,398,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,042,937,000 after buying an additional 294,832 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $633,960,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in McKesson by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,595,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,656,000 after buying an additional 50,265 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners lifted its holdings in McKesson by 12.5% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,198,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,040,000 after buying an additional 133,351 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays began coverage on McKesson in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $537.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $528.64.

McKesson Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of McKesson stock traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $523.01. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 484,479 shares, compared to its average volume of 499,445. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.70, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $352.34 and a 1-year high of $543.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $523.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $483.69.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The company had revenue of $80.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.90 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 11.24%.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at $749,456. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total value of $1,821,762.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $22,789,074.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.