Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 101,690 shares of the company’s stock after selling 7,975 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $57,954,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of McKesson by 1.0% during 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. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,200,361,000. Boston Partners raised its position in McKesson by 24.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,096,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $625,501,000 after purchasing an additional 216,432 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in McKesson by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after purchasing an additional 162,688 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 4.9% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 727,002 shares of the company’s stock worth $359,444,000 after buying an additional 34,262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCK. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.36.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,679.09. This represents a 15.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total value of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McKesson Stock Performance

MCK stock opened at $668.25 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $623.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $579.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $83.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.60, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $672.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. Research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.42%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

McKesson Company 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.