California Public Employees Retirement System Buys 55,965 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

California Public Employees Retirement System grew its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 668,340 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 55,965 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned 0.50% of McKesson worth $309,428,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter valued at $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 50.0% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Up 0.8 %

McKesson stock traded up $3.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $531.31. The company had a trading volume of 52,546 shares, compared to its average volume of 682,986. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $352.34 and a 12-month high of $543.00. The company’s fifty day moving average is $525.58 and its 200-day moving average is $487.54. The company has a market capitalization of $69.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.90 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays initiated coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $537.00 target price for the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $533.50.

McKesson 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.