Ellsworth Advisors LLC Makes New $5.36 Million Investment in McKesson Corporation $MCK

Ellsworth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 7,962 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,358,000. McKesson makes up about 1.4% of Ellsworth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Jacobi Capital Management LLC increased its position in McKesson by 2.5% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,271 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,528,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in McKesson by 1.7% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 46,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,445,000 after buying an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. WBI Investments LLC acquired a new position in McKesson during the first quarter worth $2,398,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in McKesson by 22.0% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 378,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,979,000 after buying an additional 68,294 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in McKesson by 14.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,307 shares of the company’s stock worth $880,000 after buying an additional 163 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $705.88 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $87.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $697.99 and its 200-day moving average is $692.62. McKesson Corporation has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $737.89.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a net margin of 0.84% and a negative return on equity of 196.66%. The company had revenue of $97.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $7.88 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is 13.08%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 11,930 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.63, for a total value of $8,418,165.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 4,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,830,987.56. This trade represents a 74.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total transaction of $218,347.43. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,031.19. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 43,560 shares of company stock valued at $30,438,602. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MCK shares. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $810.00 price target (up from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McKesson in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $725.10.

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.