McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Shares Sold by Brandes Investment Partners LP

Brandes Investment Partners LP trimmed its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 356,924 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,385 shares during the quarter. McKesson comprises approximately 2.3% of Brandes Investment Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Brandes Investment Partners LP’s holdings in McKesson were worth $203,415,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Buckley Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Buckley Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,235 shares of the company’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. LBP AM SA acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth $916,000. Balboa Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 71.5% in the fourth quarter. Balboa Wealth Partners now owns 1,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $614,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. grew its position in shares of McKesson by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 49,386 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,146,000 after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $36,276,465.36. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $650.96 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $608.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $570.71. The firm has a market cap of $81.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.81, a PEG 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 $663.62.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. On average, research analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.44%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.00%.

McKesson 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.