Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 6.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 294,710 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,210 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.22% of McKesson worth $136,157,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in McKesson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in McKesson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in McKesson by 50.0% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 84 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WASHINGTON TRUST Co increased its position in McKesson by 42.5% during the 4th quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total value of $1,821,762.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,789,074.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK traded up $3.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $543.30. The company had a trading volume of 654,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 493,786. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $352.34 and a twelve month high of $544.81. The stock has a market cap of $71.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $528.15 and its 200-day simple moving average is $489.48.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 11.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on MCK. SVB Leerink began coverage on McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Argus increased their price objective on McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McKesson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $533.50.

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.