Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Trims Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lowered its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 6.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,989 shares of the company’s stock after selling 492 shares during the quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in McKesson were worth $3,983,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 17.3% in 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 during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in McKesson by 55.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after acquiring an additional 425,875 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 126.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 574,440 shares of the company’s stock valued at $283,903,000 after acquiring an additional 321,119 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth $178,397,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth $128,125,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of MCK opened at $664.09 on Thursday. McKesson Co. has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $666.99. The company has a market capitalization of $83.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.41, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $613.05 and its 200 day simple moving average is $573.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. Equities analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.36.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,820,952.50. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351 in the last ninety days. 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.