Prudential Financial Inc. Has $82.48 Million Stock Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 32.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 144,729 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 35,132 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $82,483,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCK. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC lifted its position in McKesson by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the company’s stock worth $460,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $563,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 393 shares of the company’s stock worth $224,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management increased its stake in McKesson by 18.6% in the fourth quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its position in McKesson by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,665,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCK shares. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $649.36.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, 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 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351 over the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $661.56 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $82.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $670.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $617.68 and its 200-day moving average is $575.39.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company 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 $0.71 dividend. 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 0.43%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.00%.

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.