Cumberland Partners Ltd Decreases Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Cumberland Partners Ltd lessened its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 33.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 7,920 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,910 shares during the quarter. Cumberland Partners Ltd’s holdings in McKesson were worth $4,514,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,175,000 after acquiring an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its holdings in McKesson by 17.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after purchasing an additional 438,423 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,306,873,000 after purchasing an additional 26,299 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in McKesson by 55.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,048,000 after purchasing an additional 425,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of McKesson by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,606,000 after buying an additional 162,688 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCK has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Bank of America cut their price objective on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.79.

McKesson Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of MCK opened at $602.41 on Thursday. McKesson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $464.42 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The company’s fifty day moving average is $588.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.19. The firm has a market cap of $75.50 billion, a PE ratio of 27.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total transaction of $5,382,514.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,820,952.50. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total value of $349,026.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,854.83. This represents a 28.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 10,307 shares of company stock valued at $6,177,790 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.