Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Grows Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 16,356 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 873 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in McKesson were worth $9,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Brookstone Capital Management boosted its holdings in McKesson by 15.2% in the third quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 7,336 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,627,000 after acquiring an additional 968 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 11,382 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,620,000 after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Peak Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,606,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 4,729 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,338,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, InTrack Investment Management Inc increased its position in McKesson by 83.9% during the 3rd quarter. InTrack Investment Management Inc now owns 5,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,696,000 after purchasing an additional 2,488 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE MCK opened at $595.77 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $589.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $562.81. The company has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. As a group, analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.72 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho began coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W upgraded McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $645.79.

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.