Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Lowers Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC decreased its position in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 58.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 83,001 shares of the company’s stock after selling 116,135 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $47,303,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCK. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in McKesson by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,542,000 after buying an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 867.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,690 shares during the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at $3,018,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in McKesson by 20.0% in 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. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price objective on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cfra Research lowered shares of McKesson from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $668.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was 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 owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,110 shares of company stock worth $10,855,706 in the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McKesson Price Performance

MCK stock opened at $694.62 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $661.28 and a 200 day moving average of $606.43. The company has a market cap of $87.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49. McKesson Co. has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $728.32.

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 net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. On average, equities research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.