Argus Investors Counsel Inc. Lowers Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Argus Investors Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 1.1% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,570 shares of the company’s stock after selling 53 shares during the quarter. McKesson makes up 1.5% of Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 20th largest position. Argus Investors Counsel Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $2,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Distillate Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 127,542.9% in the second quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC now owns 35,740 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,874,000 after buying an additional 35,712 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 50.8% in the second quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 8,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,247,000 after buying an additional 3,027 shares during the last quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McKesson by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. Wealthspire Advisors LLC now owns 1,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $948,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the 1st quarter worth about $5,160,000. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL acquired a new position in McKesson in the 2nd quarter worth about $238,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MCK shares. Leerink Partners reduced their price target on McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their price target on McKesson from $590.00 to $670.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Baird R W cut McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $610.86.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK traded down $1.99 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $506.33. The company had a trading volume of 134,025 shares, compared to its average volume of 804,445. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $431.35 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The stock has a market cap of $65.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $520.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $551.96.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.21 by $0.67. The company had revenue of $79.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.53 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 242.57% and a net margin of 0.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.27 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.07 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 30th. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.69%.

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.