BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Sells 42,387 Shares of McKesson Corporation $MCK

Key Points

• BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its stake in McKesson Corporation by 37.4%, owning approximately 0.06% of the company valued at $47.84 million after selling 42,387 shares.
• McKesson recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.82 per share, raising it from the previous $0.71, which reflects a positive change in their dividend policy.
• Analysts have generally upgraded their target prices for McKesson, with UBS Group raising its target to $805.00 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. trimmed its position in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 37.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 71,085 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,387 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. owned approximately 0.06% of McKesson worth $47,839,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCK. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of McKesson by 75,632.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,567,000 after acquiring an additional 2,389,992 shares during the period. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $475,235,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $348,044,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of McKesson by 4,559.6% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 427,703 shares of the company's stock valued at $287,840,000 after acquiring an additional 418,524 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of McKesson by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,461,785 shares of the company's stock valued at $984,927,000 after acquiring an additional 365,484 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $810.00 target price (up from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, July 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $725.10.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McKesson news, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 1,878 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $717.91, for a total transaction of $1,348,234.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 14,028 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,070,841.48. This represents a 11.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total transaction of $218,347.43. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $436,031.19. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,620 shares of company stock valued at $39,712,388 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

MCK traded down $18.2950 during trading on Friday, reaching $687.7050. 1,217,232 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 891,581. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $707.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $684.02. McKesson Corporation has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $737.89. The stock has a market cap of $85.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 0.50.

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). The business had revenue of $97.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.93 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.84% and a negative return on equity of 196.66%. The company's revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $7.88 EPS. 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This is an increase from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McKesson's payout ratio is currently 11.32%.

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.