McKesson Corporation $MCK Stake Trimmed by Ballentine Partners LLC

Ballentine Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 9,429 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,702 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $7,284,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,346,661,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 150.4% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,268,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,661,956,000 after buying an additional 1,362,386 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 56.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,236,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,109,000 after buying an additional 446,060 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its position in McKesson by 45.6% during the second quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 833,780 shares of the company’s stock valued at $610,977,000 after buying an additional 261,296 shares during the period. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in McKesson by 68.0% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 636,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,441,000 after acquiring an additional 257,670 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 276 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $816.18, for a total value of $225,265.68. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,268 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,851,096.24. This trade represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $861.63, for a total value of $283,476.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,614.64. This represents a 50.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MCK opened at $835.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $103.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s fifty day moving average is $829.92 and its 200-day moving average is $772.05. McKesson Corporation has a 12 month low of $570.51 and a 12 month high of $895.58.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.84 by $1.02. McKesson had a net margin of 1.04% and a negative return on equity of 248.14%. The firm had revenue of $103.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $103.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $7.07 earnings per share. McKesson’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 1st. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 10.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays began coverage on McKesson in a research note on Monday, December 8th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $960.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McKesson in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $920.00 to $980.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $968.00 price target on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $895.79.

McKesson Company Profile

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company’s core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.