Sigma Planning Corp Trims Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Sigma Planning Corp reduced its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 39.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,640 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,063 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in McKesson were worth $759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 1,044.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 821,262 shares of the company’s stock valued at $380,228,000 after buying an additional 749,504 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in McKesson by 16.0% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,148,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,238,953,000 after acquiring an additional 708,438 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its position in shares of McKesson by 14.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,398,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,042,937,000 after acquiring an additional 294,832 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 92.1% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 567,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,969,000 after acquiring an additional 272,266 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 5,683.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 225,016 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,178,000 after purchasing an additional 221,125 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. UBS Group increased their price objective on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $533.50.

McKesson Stock Up 0.9 %

McKesson stock opened at $531.87 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $526.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $488.15. The firm has a market cap of $69.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $352.34 and a twelve month high of $543.00.

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

McKesson Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

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.