American Century Companies Inc. Reduces Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

American Century Companies Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 16.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 51,642 shares of the company’s stock after selling 10,136 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $29,431,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 26,299 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in McKesson by 24.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,096,301 shares of the company’s stock worth $625,501,000 after acquiring an additional 216,432 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted 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 acquiring an additional 162,688 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in McKesson by 4.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 727,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $359,444,000 after acquiring an additional 34,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 9.2% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 593,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $293,656,000 after purchasing an additional 50,147 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Price Performance

McKesson stock opened at $668.25 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $623.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $578.83. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $464.42 and a 1-year high of $672.00. The company has a market cap of $83.75 billion, a PE ratio of 30.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 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 anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.42%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCK. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho began 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.36.

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.