Institutions Shift Positions In Major Health Stocks

Latest regulatory filings highlight significant portfolio adjustments by institutional investors across several large healthcare names, including distributors, drug makers, device manufacturers and instrument suppliers.

Dakota Wealth Management cut its stake in McKesson Corporation by 95.9% in the third quarter, selling 17,691 shares and ending the period with 757 shares valued at about $585,000.

Andra AP fonden made two notable moves: it grew its position in Mettler-Toledo International by 57.3% to 21,500 shares worth $26.39 million, while trimming its Merck & Co., Inc. holding by 3.1% to 544,400 shares valued at $45.69 million.

In Medtronic (MDT), large asset managers such as Vanguard Group, State Street, JPMorgan Chase, Capital Research Global Investors and Geode Capital Management modestly increased positions in the most recent quarter, leaving institutional ownership at 82.06%.

Across the four companies, broker research points to generally positive sentiment, with average recommendations clustering around “Moderate Buy” and price targets above current trading levels in many cases.

McKesson is covered by 17 analysts, with thirteen rating it Buy and four Hold, for an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $943.50.

Mettler-Toledo carries an average “Hold” rating from 13 analysts, split between six Buy and seven Hold recommendations, and an average target price of $1,435.42.

Merck & Co., Inc. has one Strong Buy, ten Buy, six Hold and one Sell rating, resulting in a “Moderate Buy” consensus and a $125.88 average target; Medtronic (MDT) has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from 26 brokerages and a mean 12‑month target of about $110.84.

Recent earnings releases provide context for these ratings. McKesson reported quarterly earnings per share of $9.34, beating the $9.19 consensus, on revenue of $106.16 billion, up 11.4% year over year, and issued FY 2026 EPS guidance of $38.80 to $39.20.

Mettler-Toledo posted EPS of $13.36 versus expectations of $12.76, with revenue of $1.13 billion, 8.1% above the prior year’s comparable quarter, and set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $8.60 to $8.75 and FY 2026 guidance of $46.05 to $46.70.

Merck reported EPS of $2.04, slightly ahead of the $2.01 consensus, on revenue of $16.40 billion, a 5.0% annual increase, and guided FY 2026 EPS to $5.00 to $5.15.

Medtronic delivered quarterly EPS of $1.36, topping estimates of $1.34, on $9.02 billion in revenue, up 5.8% from a year earlier, and forecast FY 2026 EPS of $5.62 to $5.66.

Separate valuation work on McKesson from Simply Wall Street, using discounted cash flow and price‑earnings comparisons, indicated the shares screened as undervalued relative to an estimated intrinsic value and a calculated “Fair Ratio” P/E.

Company filings also detail insider share sales. At McKesson, Director Maria Martinez sold 349 shares and CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 328 shares in February, contributing to 1,143 shares sold by insiders in the past 90 days.

Mettler-Toledo’s CFO Shawn Vadala sold 800 shares in February, reducing his stake by 13.14%, while at Merck, CMO Chirfi Guindo sold 20,000 shares and CFO Caroline Litchfield sold 41,997 shares earlier in the month.

Medtronic disclosed that EVP Harry Skip Kiil sold 52,524 shares, a 61.58% reduction in his holdings, leaving insiders with 0.26% ownership of the company.

Dividend policies remain an additional element of shareholder return. McKesson declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, and Merck and Medtronic announced quarterly payouts of $0.85 and $0.71 per share respectively, implying forward yields of 0.3% for McKesson and 2.8% for Merck, with Medtronic’s annualized yield at 2.9%.