McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Position Reduced by Bailard Inc.

Bailard Inc. reduced its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,012 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,151 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $1,147,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MCK. Stephens Inc. AR lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,505 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its position in McKesson by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 682 shares of the company’s stock valued at $342,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in McKesson by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 767 shares of the company’s stock valued at $379,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in McKesson by 30.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 81,957 shares of the company’s stock valued at $41,123,000 after purchasing an additional 19,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,560,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK opened at $645.34 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $595.50 and its 200-day moving average is $564.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $464.42 and a 12-month high of $648.47.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of 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 lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 69,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,820,952.50. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,268 shares of company stock worth $11,536,378 over the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.