MetLife Investment Management LLC Lowers Position in McKesson Corporation $MCK

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in McKesson Corporation by 3.2% in the first quarter, now holding 34,966 shares worth approximately $23.53 million.
• Wall Street analysts have boosted their target prices for McKesson, with recent price objectives set at $800 by Evercore ISI and Bank of America, indicating positive market sentiment.
• McKesson has announced an increase in its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, reflecting a consistent return to shareholders with a dividend payout ratio of 11.32%.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,966 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,150 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in McKesson were worth $23,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MCK. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in McKesson by 75,632.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company's stock worth $1,610,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389,992 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in McKesson by 0.7% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,542,382 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,008,000 after purchasing an additional 10,179 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in McKesson by 33.3% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,461,785 shares of the company's stock worth $984,927,000 after purchasing an additional 365,484 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in McKesson by 9.1% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,290,116 shares of the company's stock worth $868,237,000 after purchasing an additional 107,638 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in McKesson by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,103,050 shares of the company's stock worth $628,639,000 after purchasing an additional 95,806 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company's stock.

McKesson Trading Up 0.8%

NYSE MCK traded up $5.42 on Friday, reaching $686.44. 877,701 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 890,479. The firm has a market capitalization of $85.38 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.50. McKesson Corporation has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $737.89. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $703.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $686.81.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.33 by ($0.07). The business had revenue of $97.83 billion for 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%. McKesson's revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.88 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. McKesson's payout ratio is presently 13.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $810.00 price target (up previously from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $725.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares of the company's stock, valued at $436,031.19. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total transaction of $13,716,411.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,872 shares of the company's stock, valued at $19,735,884.48. The trade was a 41.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,930 shares of company stock valued at $44,112,466 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.