National Bank of Canada FI Reduces Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

National Bank of Canada FI lowered its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 26.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 125,110 shares of the company’s stock after selling 44,882 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI’s holdings in McKesson were worth $59,217,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MCK. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in McKesson by 1,044.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 821,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,228,000 after buying an additional 749,504 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in McKesson by 16.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,148,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,238,953,000 after buying an additional 708,438 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,398,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,042,937,000 after acquiring an additional 294,832 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 92.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 567,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,969,000 after acquiring an additional 272,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in McKesson by 5,683.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 225,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,178,000 after purchasing an additional 221,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at $749,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

McKesson stock traded down $1.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $528.86. The company had a trading volume of 866,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,262. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $352.34 and a 12-month high of $544.81. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $530.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $492.60.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The firm had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.90 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.24%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MCK. Argus boosted their target price on McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $536.71.

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.