New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Trims Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board decreased its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,152 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in McKesson were worth $3,506,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the third quarter valued at $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the third quarter valued at $31,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 51.9% during the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Down 1.4 %

McKesson stock opened at $593.82 on Friday. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $74.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $587.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $563.09.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released 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 negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. Research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.79.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total transaction of $349,026.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,854.83. This trade represents a 28.64 % 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,346 shares of company stock worth $795,275. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.