Leuthold Group LLC Sells 611 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Leuthold Group LLC reduced its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,819 shares of the company’s stock after selling 611 shares during the quarter. McKesson comprises approximately 1.2% of Leuthold Group LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Leuthold Group LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $9,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCK. Greystone Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Greystone Financial Group LLC now owns 16,325 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,304,000 after acquiring an additional 2,516 shares during the last quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McKesson by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Transcend Capital Advisors LLC now owns 969 shares of the company’s stock worth $552,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in McKesson by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC now owns 1,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Compass Capital Corp MA ADV purchased a new position in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter worth about $401,000. Finally, Centricity Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at about $488,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at $640,679.09. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total transaction of $5,382,514.26. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,820,952.50. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,307 shares of company stock worth $6,177,790 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McKesson Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MCK stock opened at $597.68 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $589.02 and a 200 day moving average of $562.38. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $637.51.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCK has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho assumed coverage on McKesson in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Two 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.79.

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.