Wealth Alliance Cuts Stock Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Wealth Alliance lessened its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 10.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 632 shares of the company’s stock after selling 71 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance’s holdings in McKesson were worth $360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of McKesson by 2.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after purchasing an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of McKesson by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,873,000 after purchasing an additional 26,299 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of McKesson by 55.8% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of McKesson by 20.0% during the fourth 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $597.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $74.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $637.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $589.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $562.38.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total transaction of $5,382,514.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 10,307 shares of company stock valued at $6,177,790. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MCK shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America cut their price objective on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho initiated coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.79.

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.