Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Increases Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 0.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,929 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 122 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in McKesson were worth $6,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in McKesson by 16.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,148,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,238,953,000 after purchasing an additional 708,438 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its holdings in McKesson by 14.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,398,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,042,937,000 after purchasing an additional 294,832 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter worth about $633,960,000. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in McKesson by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,595,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,656,000 after purchasing an additional 50,265 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners grew its holdings in McKesson by 12.5% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,198,429 shares of the company’s stock worth $522,040,000 after purchasing an additional 133,351 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $537.00 target price on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $533.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total value of $1,821,762.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $22,789,074.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $524.83 on Monday. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $352.34 and a twelve month high of $543.00. The company has a market cap of $68.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s 50 day moving average is $524.91 and its 200 day moving average is $486.96.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a net margin of 0.99% and a negative return on equity of 262.63%. The business had revenue of $80.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.90 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.62 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 11.24%.

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.