Essex Financial Services Inc. Buys 393 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Essex Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 14.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,064 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 393 shares during the quarter. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $1,792,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. RFP Financial Group LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 9.8% during the second quarter. RFP Financial Group LLC now owns 191 shares of the company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 2.2% during the second quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 804 shares of the company’s stock worth $470,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. First Western Trust Bank boosted its position in McKesson by 2.0% during the first quarter. First Western Trust Bank now owns 913 shares of the company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 1.7% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 1.4% during the first quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,355 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.41, for a total transaction of $2,155,760.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,845 shares in the company, valued at $51,607,866.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $574.41, for a total value of $2,155,760.73. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,607,866.45. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $585.53, for a total value of $351,318.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,183,941.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,342 shares of company stock worth $7,319,742 over the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of McKesson from $547.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $620.00 to $630.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $590.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of McKesson from $660.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $620.29.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE:MCK traded up $5.63 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $561.08. The company had a trading volume of 954,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,171. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $404.72 and a 1-year high of $637.51. The firm has a market cap of $72.76 billion, a PE ratio of 25.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $580.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $556.31.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.21 by $0.67. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 242.57% and a net margin of 0.94%. The company had revenue of $79.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.27 earnings per share. McKesson’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.51%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 11.08%.

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.