Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Boosts Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 37,120 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,095 shares during the quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $18,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after acquiring an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in McKesson by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after purchasing an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of McKesson by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,297,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,862,000 after purchasing an additional 36,583 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of McKesson by 55.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after buying an additional 425,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 4.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,183,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $635,763,000 after buying an additional 47,140 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total transaction of $2,105,808.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Up 0.2 %

MCK traded up $1.38 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $626.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 543,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 820,676. McKesson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $431.35 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $537.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $558.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.51 billion, a PE ratio of 32.45, a PEG ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. The company’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $6.23 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.71%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Leerink Partners cut their price objective on McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Barclays lifted their target price on McKesson from $596.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on McKesson from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $631.57.

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.