Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 14.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,375 shares of the company's stock after selling 576 shares during the period. Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s holdings in McKesson were worth $1,923,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in McKesson by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,252 shares of the company's stock worth $11,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at $3,018,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 85.0% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the company's stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 6.4% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 7,830 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,462,000 after acquiring an additional 468 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:MCK traded up $4.80 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $715.44. The company's stock had a trading volume of 815,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,067. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $689.88 and a 200-day moving average of $633.70. McKesson Co. has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $731.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.83 by $0.29. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. The business had revenue of $90.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.18 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 10.99%.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 1,248 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.30, for a total transaction of $895,190.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 2,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,880,043.30. The trade was a 32.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 6,336 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.30, for a total value of $4,544,812.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,760 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,587,348. This represents a 30.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 8,127 shares of company stock worth $5,834,498. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MCK shares. Wall Street Zen cut McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Cfra Research cut McKesson from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America increased their price objective on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $686.69.

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.