Applied Finance Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)

Key Points

• Applied Finance Capital Management LLC has significantly reduced its stake in McKesson Corporation by 54.5%, ending the first quarter with 25,155 shares valued at approximately $16.93 million.
• In contrast, other institutional investors like Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. and Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC have increased their holdings in McKesson, exemplifying a mixed sentiment among investors.
• McKesson's stock received a downgrade from "strong-buy" to "buy" by Wall Street Zen, while analysts maintain an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with a target price around $710.17.

Applied Finance Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 54.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 25,155 shares of the company's stock after selling 30,106 shares during the period. Applied Finance Capital Management LLC's holdings in McKesson were worth $16,929,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 75,632.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389,992 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,200,361,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $348,044,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in McKesson by 59,720.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 358,922 shares of the company's stock valued at $204,553,000 after purchasing an additional 358,322 shares during the period. Finally, Leigh Baldwin & CO. LLC bought a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $182,861,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $712.18, for a total transaction of $2,058,912.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 2,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,811,785.92. The trade was a 53.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total value of $13,716,411.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $19,735,884.48. The trade was a 41.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 52,488 shares of company stock worth $37,242,862 over the last quarter. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCK has been the topic of a number of research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. Cfra Research downgraded McKesson from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $810.00 price objective (up previously from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $710.17.

McKesson Stock Down 0.0%

MCK traded down $0.30 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $711.85. 311,079 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 872,672. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $717.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $673.84. McKesson Corporation has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $737.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $89.06 billion, a PE ratio of 27.57, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.48.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $9.83 by $0.29. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 201.12% and a net margin of 0.92%. The company had revenue of $90.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.18 EPS. McKesson's revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.46%. This is a boost from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. McKesson's payout ratio is presently 10.99%.

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.