Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,642 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 277,133 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,642 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.22% of McKesson worth $137,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 128.0% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 199,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $98,456,000 after acquiring an additional 111,808 shares during the period. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas acquired a new stake in McKesson in the 3rd quarter worth about $7,804,000. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in McKesson by 7,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Beaird Harris Wealth Management LLC now owns 426 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 420 shares during the period. Old North State Trust LLC grew its position 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 purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 5.1% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total value of $349,026.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $869,854.83. The trade was a 28.64 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCK has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Citigroup raised their price target on McKesson from $630.00 to $713.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.14.

McKesson Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of MCK stock opened at $579.74 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.02, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $445.06 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $571.41 and its 200 day simple moving average is $563.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is 14.71%.

McKesson Company 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.