McKesson Corporation $MCK Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada reduced its stake in McKesson Corporation by 3.6%, selling 68,665 shares and ending up with 1,826,354 shares valued at approximately $1.23 billion.
• McKesson's quarterly earnings report revealed an EPS of $8.26, which missed estimates by $0.07, despite a revenue of $97.83 billion, up 23.4% year-over-year.
• The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.82 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.5%, up from a previous dividend of $0.71.

Royal Bank of Canada cut its position in shares of McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 3.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,826,354 shares of the company's stock after selling 68,665 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 1.46% of McKesson worth $1,229,117,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the company's stock worth $1,438,000 after buying an additional 798 shares during the period. AXA S.A. increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 53,378 shares of the company's stock worth $30,421,000 after purchasing an additional 940 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 4,087 shares of the company's stock worth $2,330,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. Alpha Family Trust bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth $214,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 10.7% in the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 346,827 shares of the company's stock worth $197,685,000 after acquiring an additional 33,622 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of MCK stock traded down $1.49 on Wednesday, reaching $690.13. 417,749 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 938,827. The business's 50 day moving average price is $701.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $689.23. McKesson Corporation has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $737.89. The company has a market capitalization of $85.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.52, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last announced its 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). McKesson had a net margin of 0.84% and a negative return on equity of 196.66%. The business had revenue of $97.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $95.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $7.88 earnings per share. McKesson's quarterly revenue was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MCK shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Morgan Stanley reissued 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. Bank of America increased 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. Cowen reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $725.10.

Insider Activity

In other McKesson news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total transaction of $218,347.43. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares in the company, valued at approximately $436,031.19. This represents a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total transaction of $13,716,411.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 27,872 shares in the company, valued at $19,735,884.48. This represents 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 worth $44,112,466 over the last 90 days. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About McKesson

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.