McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Shares Bought by Howard Capital Management Inc.

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 888 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $506,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MCK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in McKesson by 2.9% in 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 acquiring an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 17.3% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 1.0% in the 3rd 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 during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in McKesson by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after buying an additional 425,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in McKesson by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after buying an additional 162,688 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total value of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 19,268 shares of company stock worth $11,536,378. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho started coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W upgraded shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.79.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK stock opened at $604.90 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $589.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $562.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $75.81 billion, a PE ratio of 27.70, a P/E/G 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.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.00%.

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.