Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 27.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,268 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,102 shares during the quarter. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $4,712,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after buying an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings 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 valued at $588,048,000 after acquiring an additional 425,875 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 321,119 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 162,688 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total value of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total transaction of $114,602.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,679.09. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,268 shares of company stock worth $11,536,378. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on MCK shares. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird raised McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Mizuho assumed coverage on McKesson in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.79.

McKesson Trading Up 3.5 %

NYSE:MCK opened at $626.99 on Wednesday. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $464.42 and a 12-month high of $637.51. The firm has a market cap of $78.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s 50-day moving average is $591.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.63.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share 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. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

McKesson 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.