Ninety One UK Ltd Cuts Stock Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Ninety One UK Ltd cut its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 174,461 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,310 shares during the period. Ninety One UK Ltd’s holdings in McKesson were worth $80,772,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Covestor Ltd raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 72.3% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 81 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 34 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Live Oak Investment Partners purchased a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MCK shares. Argus lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com lowered McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, SVB Leerink began coverage on McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $533.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McKesson Stock Down 2.1 %

MCK stock traded down $10.87 during trading on Thursday, reaching $515.05. 290,253 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 684,281. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $352.34 and a 1-year high of $543.00. The firm has a market cap of $67.68 billion, a PE ratio of 23.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $523.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $485.48.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.99% and a negative return on equity of 262.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $6.90 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 11.24%.

About McKesson

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.