Ardevora Asset Management LLP Decreases Stock Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Ardevora Asset Management LLP decreased its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 39.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 22,365 shares of the company's stock after selling 14,715 shares during the period. Ardevora Asset Management LLP's holdings in McKesson were worth $10,355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCK. Raymond James & Associates lifted its holdings in McKesson by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 153,180 shares of the company's stock worth $70,919,000 after buying an additional 8,784 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 85,779 shares of the company's stock worth $39,714,000 after buying an additional 5,425 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth $1,813,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the company's stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at $891,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on MCK. Argus increased their price objective on McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price objective on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Citigroup increased their price objective on McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $533.50.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

McKesson Trading Up 1.2 %

MCK traded up $6.02 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $524.83. 645,525 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 454,051. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $524.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $486.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $352.34 and a 1-year high of $543.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $80.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.90 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.24%.

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.