Lazard Asset Management LLC Raises Position in McKesson Corporation $MCK

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 28.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 59,478 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,023 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $51,470,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in McKesson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,855,000 after purchasing an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Investment Research Partners LLC now owns 1,624 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,332,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $981,000 after buying an additional 11 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 12.1% in the 4th quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Finally, Macroview Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Macroview Investment Management LLC now owns 322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $850.94 on Tuesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $781.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $838.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $99.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.31. McKesson Corporation has a 12 month low of $637.00 and a 12 month high of $999.00.

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

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 1st. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.77%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MCK. Barclays dropped their price objective on McKesson from $1,050.00 to $925.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 10th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of McKesson from $1,107.00 to $1,015.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on shares of McKesson from $1,040.00 to $1,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Fourteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $962.67.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 133 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.00, for a total value of $101,612.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 632 shares in the company, valued at $482,848. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through 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 McKesson stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,697,081.64. This trade represents a 58.84% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,748 shares of company stock worth $22,262,035. Corporate insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

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.