Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC reduced its stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 1.2% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 41,241 shares of the company’s stock after selling 491 shares during the period. McKesson makes up about 1.0% of Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $27,755,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 75,632.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,610,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389,992 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,200,361,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $348,044,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 358,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth $182,861,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCK traded down $0.81 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $708.99. 19,433 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 917,864. The firm has a market cap of $88.70 billion, a PE ratio of 27.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $716.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $668.27. McKesson Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $464.42 and a fifty-two week high of $737.89.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $9.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $90.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $94 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 201.12% and a net margin of 0.92%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.99%.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 543 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $726.51, for a total transaction of $394,494.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,432,677.72. The trade was a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total transaction of $13,716,411.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,735,884.48. This trade represents a 41.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 52,488 shares of company stock valued at $37,242,862. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $810.00 price objective (up from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 price target on McKesson and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cfra Research downgraded McKesson from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven 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 presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $710.17.

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.