Avestar Capital LLC Acquires 258 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Avestar Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 20.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,526 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 258 shares during the quarter. Avestar Capital LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $871,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Creative Planning boosted its stake in McKesson by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 63,328 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,064,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in McKesson by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 78,407 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,766,000 after purchasing an additional 861 shares during the period. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 742.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 36.9% in the 3rd quarter. Good Life Advisors LLC now owns 1,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $526,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Co. of Vermont increased its position in shares of McKesson by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,000 after buying an additional 27 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $602.73 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $76.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $464.42 and a 12-month high of $637.51. The business’s 50 day moving average is $587.56 and its 200-day moving average is $562.90.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.69 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Baird R W upgraded McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total transaction of $349,026.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,854.83. The trade was a 28.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 1,346 shares of company stock valued at $795,275 over the last 90 days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.