Czech National Bank Boosts Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,524 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,108 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in McKesson were worth $15,686,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MCK. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 1,020.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 806,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,937,000 after buying an additional 734,849 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after buying an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 55.8% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after buying an additional 425,875 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 126.8% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 574,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,903,000 after buying an additional 321,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after buying an additional 162,688 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MCK shares. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Mizuho started coverage on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McKesson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $646.14.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of MCK stock opened at $584.62 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $593.71 and a 200 day moving average price of $560.83. McKesson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $464.42 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. The firm had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $6.23 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.71%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.