California Public Employees Retirement System Reduces Stock Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 630,345 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,488 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in McKesson were worth $359,240,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 three months, insiders sold 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MCK. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho initiated coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America reduced their target price on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price target on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.36.

McKesson Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of MCK stock opened at $668.25 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $623.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $579.34. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $672.00. The company has a market cap of $83.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued 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 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 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. McKesson’s payout ratio 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.