McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Stake Cut by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 6.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,723 shares of the company’s stock after selling 721 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $6,111,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,175,000 after purchasing an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after purchasing an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,873,000 after purchasing an additional 26,299 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after purchasing an additional 425,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after purchasing an additional 162,688 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Stock Down 1.0 %

MCK opened at $597.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $589.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $562.38. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $464.42 and a 12-month high of $637.51.

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

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho assumed coverage on McKesson in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total value of $5,382,514.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 69,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,820,952.50. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 10,307 shares of company stock worth $6,177,790. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.