Becker Capital Management Inc. Sells 867 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Becker Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 84,740 shares of the company’s stock after selling 867 shares during the period. McKesson comprises about 1.6% of Becker Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Becker Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $48,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,200,361,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 59,720.3% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 358,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,553,000 after acquiring an additional 358,322 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $178,397,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 855,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $487,462,000 after purchasing an additional 272,068 shares during the period. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 259.7% during the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 338,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $192,845,000 after purchasing an additional 244,315 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MCK opened at $707.68 on Wednesday. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $728.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.40, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $665.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $609.90.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the company’s 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was 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 $41,820,952.50. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,110 shares of company stock worth $10,855,706. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on McKesson from $665.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $681.00.

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.