Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Decreases Stock Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 15.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,594 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,461 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in McKesson were worth $6,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in McKesson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co grew its position in shares of McKesson by 42.5% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on MCK. UBS Group increased their target price on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Barclays started coverage on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $537.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, SVB Leerink assumed coverage on McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $533.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated 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 $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the completion of 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. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McKesson Stock Performance

MCK stock opened at $531.87 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $69.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a 1 year low of $352.34 and a 1 year high of $543.00. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $526.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $488.15.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a net margin of 0.99% and a negative return on equity of 262.63%. The company had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $6.90 earnings per share. McKesson’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 11.24%.

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.