First Trust Advisors LP Trims Stake in McKesson Corporation $MCK

First Trust Advisors LP lessened its stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) by 0.8% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 149,904 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,150 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in McKesson were worth $129,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,104,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,929,380,000 after acquiring an additional 73,109 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in McKesson by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,780,179 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,746,118,000 after purchasing an additional 29,660 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,857,344 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,333,520,000 after purchasing an additional 25,082 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in McKesson by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,825,954 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,318,102,000 after purchasing an additional 144,633 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,651,137,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Key McKesson News

Here are the key news stories impacting McKesson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McKesson raised its quarterly dividend by 15% to $0.94 per share, a shareholder-friendly move that suggests strong underlying cash generation and could support investor sentiment. McKesson Corporation Raises Quarterly Dividend by 15% to $0.94 Per Share
• Positive Sentiment: Some coverage framed McKesson as a stock worth watching, reflecting continued investor interest in the name after its strong long-term performance. 1 S&P 500 Stock on Our Buy List and 2 Facing Challenges
• Neutral Sentiment: McKesson was also featured in “trending stock” and long-term performance articles, which indicate elevated attention but do not add a clear new fundamental catalyst. Is Trending Stock McKesson Corporation (MCK) a Buy Now?
• Negative Sentiment: TD Cowen reportedly lowered expectations for McKesson, and separate commentary noted the stock had recently underperformed the broader market, which may have weighed on sentiment. TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Stock Price

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $875.00 price target on shares of McKesson in a report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $1,000.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of McKesson from $1,107.00 to $1,015.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of McKesson from $1,012.00 to $989.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on McKesson in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $959.00.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 699 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $735.27, for a total value of $513,953.73. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,268 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,667,592.36. This trade represents a 23.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,463 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $793.56, for a total value of $6,715,898.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,919 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,697,081.64. This trade represents a 58.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 28,748 shares of company stock valued at $22,262,035 over the last quarter. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McKesson Price Performance

MCK opened at $824.71 on Friday. McKesson Corporation has a 12 month low of $637.00 and a 12 month high of $999.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $778.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $838.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $96.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.31.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $11.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $11.56 by $0.13. McKesson had a net margin of 1.18% and a negative return on equity of 345.35%. The business had revenue of $96.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $10.12 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. McKesson has set its FY 2027 guidance at 43.800-44.600 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson Corporation will post 44.28 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 8.53%.

McKesson Profile

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company’s core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.