McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) was in 39 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of March. MCK shareholders have witnessed a decrease in support from the world’s most elite money managers of late. There were 46 hedge funds in our database with MCK positions at the end of the previous quarter.
In today’s marketplace, there are a multitude of gauges shareholders can use to track publicly traded companies. Some of the best are hedge fund and insider trading activity. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the best picks of the top investment managers can outpace the broader indices by a superb margin (see just how much).
Just as beneficial, optimistic insider trading activity is another way to parse down the financial markets. There are plenty of motivations for a bullish insider to sell shares of his or her company, but just one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the market-beating potential of this tactic if shareholders know what to do (learn more here).
Now, let’s take a glance at the latest action surrounding McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK).
How are hedge funds trading McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)?
Heading into Q2, a total of 39 of the hedge funds we track held long positions in this stock, a change of -15% from the previous quarter. With hedgies’ sentiment swirling, there exists an “upper tier” of noteworthy hedge fund managers who were upping their holdings meaningfully.
When looking at the hedgies we track, Larry Robbins’s Glenview Capital had the largest position in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK), worth close to $400.6 million, comprising 4.2% of its total 13F portfolio. Sitting at the No. 2 spot is OZ Management, managed by Daniel S. Och, which held a $172.7 million position; 0.6% of its 13F portfolio is allocated to the stock. Remaining hedgies that hold long positions include Doug Silverman and Alexander Klabin’s Senator Investment Group, Cliff Asness’s AQR Capital Management and Phill Gross and Robert Atchinson’s Adage Capital Management.
Since McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) has experienced a declination in interest from hedge fund managers, it’s easy to see that there lies a certain “tier” of hedge funds that slashed their entire stakes last quarter. At the top of the heap, Patrick McCormack’s Tiger Consumer Management said goodbye to the biggest position of the 450+ funds we watch, totaling an estimated $88.6 million in stock.. Sanford J. Colen’s fund, Apex Capital, also sold off its stock, about $14.3 million worth. These moves are interesting, as total hedge fund interest dropped by 7 funds last quarter.
What do corporate executives and insiders think about McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)?
Insider trading activity, especially when it’s bullish, is particularly usable when the company in focus has experienced transactions within the past six months. Over the last 180-day time period, McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) has seen zero unique insiders purchasing, and 9 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).
Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK). These stocks are Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE:OCR), AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC), “, and Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH). This group of stocks are the members of the drugs wholesale industry and their market caps match MCK’s market cap.
| Company Name | # of Hedge Funds | # of Insiders Buying | # of Insiders Selling |
| Omnicare, Inc. (NYSE:OCR) | 27 | 0 | 0 |
| AmerisourceBergen Corp. (NYSE:ABC) | 25 | 0 | 4 |
| Cardinal Health, Inc. (NYSE:CAH) | 42 | 1 | 8 |
With the returns exhibited by the aforementioned strategies, retail investors should always monitor hedge fund and insider trading activity, and McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) is no exception.
