McKesson Corporation $MCK Shares Bought by Lazard Asset Management LLC

Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 28.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,478 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,023 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $51,470,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at $1,651,137,000. Swedbank AB raised its stake in McKesson by 42.2% during the 4th quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 886,283 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,009,000 after acquiring an additional 263,189 shares in the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its position in McKesson by 4,300.3% in the first quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 214,693 shares of the company’s stock valued at $185,787,000 after acquiring an additional 209,814 shares during the last quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP lifted its position in McKesson by 68.7% in the third quarter. SurgoCap Partners LP now owns 452,261 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,390,000 after acquiring an additional 184,106 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in McKesson by 73.7% in the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 432,578 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,839,000 after acquiring an additional 183,590 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $850.94 on Tuesday. McKesson Corporation has a 1 year low of $637.00 and a 1 year high of $999.00. The company has a market capitalization of $99.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average is $781.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $838.73.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $11.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.56 by $0.13. McKesson had a net margin of 1.18% and a negative return on equity of 345.35%. The company had revenue of $96.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.35 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $10.12 earnings per share. McKesson’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. McKesson has set its FY 2027 guidance at 43.800-44.600 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that McKesson Corporation will post 44.28 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be given a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 9.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McKesson news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 133 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.00, for a total transaction of $101,612.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 632 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $482,848. This represents a 17.39% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,463 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $793.56, for a total value of $6,715,898.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,697,081.64. The trade was a 58.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 28,748 shares of company stock worth $22,262,035. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered McKesson from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on McKesson from $1,012.00 to $989.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 21st. Citigroup upped their target price on McKesson from $945.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. UBS Group raised their price target on McKesson from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 27th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $962.67.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company’s core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.