Swiss National Bank Lowers Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 385,050 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,000 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in McKesson were worth $190,376,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MCK. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,297,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,862,000 after buying an additional 36,583 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB purchased a new position in McKesson in the first quarter worth $669,326,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in McKesson by 4.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,183,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,763,000 after acquiring an additional 47,140 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 7.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 857,611 shares of the company’s stock worth $500,879,000 after purchasing an additional 62,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 1,020.2% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 806,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,937,000 after purchasing an additional 734,849 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE MCK opened at $606.29 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $76.96 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.44. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $431.35 and a 12 month high of $637.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $520.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $554.57.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.81 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total value of $2,105,808.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MCK shares. Baird R W raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on McKesson from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $656.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $631.57.

McKesson Company 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.