McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Shares Sold by Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC

Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 27.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. 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 SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MCK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in McKesson by 2.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,175,000 after buying an additional 138,685 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 1.0% during the 3rd 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. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in McKesson by 55.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,048,000 after purchasing an additional 425,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in McKesson by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,606,000 after purchasing an additional 162,688 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total transaction of $349,026.99. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $869,854.83. This represents a 28.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total transaction of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 19,268 shares of company stock valued at $11,536,378. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their target price on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America decreased their price target on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Baird R W upgraded shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.79.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of MCK stock opened at $626.99 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.71, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $637.51. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $591.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $562.63.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. As a group, research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.45%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

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.