Fred Alger Management LLC Reduces Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Fred Alger Management LLC lessened its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 99.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,581 shares of the company’s stock after selling 240,681 shares during the quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $782,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in McKesson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after buying an additional 138,685 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in McKesson by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,297,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,862,000 after purchasing an additional 36,583 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in McKesson by 55.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,048,000 after purchasing an additional 425,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 857,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $500,879,000 after purchasing an additional 62,875 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird raised McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI increased 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McKesson from $656.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.57.

McKesson Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $628.50 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $542.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $560.02. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $431.35 and a 12-month high of $637.51. The company has a market cap of $79.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.23 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

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.