Blair William & Co. IL Sells 509 Shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK)

Key Points

• Blair William & Co. IL reduced its holdings in McKesson Corporation by 3.7%, selling 509 shares, and now owns a total of 13,319 shares valued at approximately $8.96 million.
• Multiple analysts have changed their ratings on McKesson, with Wall Street Zen downgrading it from "strong-buy" to "buy" and Evercore ISI raising its price target to $800.00.
• McKesson announced an increase in its quarterly dividend from $0.71 to $0.82, reflecting a more favorable payout ratio of 10.99% and a dividend yield of 0.5%.

Blair William & Co. IL trimmed its stake in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 3.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,319 shares of the company's stock after selling 509 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL's holdings in McKesson were worth $8,964,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 1,366.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 44 shares of the company's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its stake in McKesson by 64.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 46 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC increased its position in McKesson by 1,840.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 97 shares of the company's stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company's stock.

McKesson Trading Down 0.7%

NYSE:MCK traded down $4.64 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $704.85. 1,268,592 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 624,894. McKesson Corporation has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $737.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $716.27 and a 200 day moving average of $677.85.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 201.12% and a net margin of 0.92%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCK. Bank of America upped their target price on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $810.00 price target (up from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 price target on McKesson and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $710.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McKesson news, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 1,878 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.91, for a total value of $1,348,234.98. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 14,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,070,841.48. This represents a 11.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were 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 directly owned 2,544 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,811,785.92. This represents a 53.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,488 shares of company stock valued at $37,242,862. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.