Washington Trust Bank Acquires 63 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 5.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,321 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the quarter. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in McKesson were worth $753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its stake in McKesson by 6.3% in the 4th 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 during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its stake in McKesson by 867.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,018,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC boosted its stake in McKesson by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in McKesson by 20.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after purchasing an additional 162,688 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MCK. Evercore ISI increased their target price on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their target price on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America decreased their price target on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.36.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total value of $5,358,588.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at $36,276,465.36. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This represents a 15.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,689 shares of company stock valued at $11,187,351 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McKesson Stock Down 1.0 %

MCK stock opened at $659.45 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $616.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $574.33. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $670.79. The firm has a market cap of $82.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. Research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

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.