Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Position in McKesson Corporation $MCK

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 106.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,089 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,949 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in McKesson were worth $19,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP boosted its holdings in McKesson by 15.0% in the second quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $540,000 after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in McKesson by 2.1% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 57,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,336,000 after acquiring an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 367 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the period. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 26.3% in the 2nd quarter. Quantum Portfolio Management LLC now owns 2,153 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avestar Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 11.9% in the 2nd quarter. Avestar Capital LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,356,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $861.63, for a total transaction of $283,476.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,614.64. This represents a 50.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

McKesson stock opened at $795.27 on Wednesday. McKesson Corporation has a 12-month low of $558.13 and a 12-month high of $895.58. The company has a market capitalization of $98.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $816.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $746.49.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.84 by $1.02. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 248.14% and a net margin of 1.04%.The company had revenue of $103.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.80 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $7.07 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 10.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $816.00 to $914.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of McKesson from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $920.00 to $980.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on McKesson from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $892.86.

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.