Blue Trust Inc. Has $3.16 Million Position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Blue Trust Inc. reduced its position in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 24.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 5,548 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,814 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $3,162,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in McKesson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after purchasing an additional 138,685 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after purchasing an additional 438,423 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 1.0% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 55.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after acquiring an additional 425,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after acquiring an additional 162,688 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Price Performance

McKesson stock opened at $593.82 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $587.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $563.18. McKesson Co. has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.69 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value 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. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,346 shares of company stock valued at $795,275. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Baird R W raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.79.

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.