Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $7.21 Million Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 6.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 12,643 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 788 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $7,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Cfra Research downgraded McKesson from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $642.00 to $745.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $668.50.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE MCK opened at $690.43 on Friday. McKesson Co. has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $728.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $642.70 and a 200 day simple moving average of $593.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.61, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,820,952.50. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total transaction of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,110 shares of company stock valued at $10,855,706 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.