William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. Lowers Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. lessened its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,704 shares of the company’s stock after selling 154 shares during the period. McKesson accounts for about 2.4% of William B. Walkup & Associates Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc.’s holdings in McKesson were worth $3,821,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of McKesson by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,847,385 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,622,754,000 after buying an additional 222,496 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in McKesson by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,663,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,513,195,000 after acquiring an additional 10,015 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in McKesson by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,620,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,704,000 after acquiring an additional 114,396 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,200,361,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,532,203 shares of the company’s stock worth $873,218,000 after purchasing an additional 126,940 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Cfra Research downgraded shares of McKesson from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. 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 research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $686.69.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total value of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McKesson Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $726.05 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $684.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $629.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.24, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.53. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $464.42 and a 12-month high of $728.48.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.83 by $0.29. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. The firm had revenue of $90.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 18.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 10.99%.

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.