Empirical Finance LLC Sells 64 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Empirical Finance LLC trimmed its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,714 shares of the company’s stock after selling 64 shares during the period. Empirical Finance LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $2,687,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of McKesson by 1,020.2% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 806,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,937,000 after acquiring an additional 734,849 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in McKesson by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after buying an additional 438,423 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in McKesson by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after buying an additional 425,875 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in McKesson by 126.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 574,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,903,000 after buying an additional 321,119 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in McKesson by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after buying an additional 162,688 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total transaction of $349,026.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,854.83. The trade was a 28.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McKesson Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE:MCK opened at $595.77 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $588.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $562.90.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted 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 negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. On average, equities research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “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.