Alliancebernstein L.P. Increases Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 46.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 855,332 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 272,068 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.67% of McKesson worth $487,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in McKesson by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,873,000 after buying an additional 26,299 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,200,361,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,096,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,501,000 after acquiring an additional 216,432 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,606,000 after purchasing an additional 162,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 593,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $293,656,000 after purchasing an additional 50,147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.36.

McKesson Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE MCK opened at $668.25 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $623.58 and its 200 day moving average is $579.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $672.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. On average, research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total transaction of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total transaction of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,679.09. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.