Franklin Resources Inc. Sells 6,184 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 0.2% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,506,552 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,184 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $1,235,913,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after buying an additional 138,685 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in McKesson by 17.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after purchasing an additional 438,423 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in McKesson by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,873,000 after purchasing an additional 26,299 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in McKesson by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,297,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,862,000 after purchasing an additional 36,583 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 425,875 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Stock Performance

NYSE MCK opened at $579.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.00, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $562.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $562.53. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $431.35 and a 52 week high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The firm had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.23 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.71%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total value of $349,026.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,854.83. This represents a 28.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MCK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partners lowered their price objective on McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on McKesson from $656.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Baird R W upgraded McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $635.86.

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.