Wright Investors Service Inc. Lowers Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Wright Investors Service Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 81.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 647 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,757 shares during the quarter. Wright Investors Service Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $369,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in McKesson by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,175,000 after buying an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in McKesson by 17.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in McKesson by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,873,000 after acquiring an additional 26,299 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in McKesson by 2.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,297,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,862,000 after purchasing an additional 36,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in McKesson by 55.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after purchasing an additional 425,875 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

MCK opened at $584.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.28, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $637.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $593.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $560.83.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The firm’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.23 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Leerink Partners reduced their price objective on McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $646.14.

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.