McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Shares Sold by Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC

Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC decreased its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,732 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,066 shares during the quarter. Clifford Swan Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $23,784,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 12,076 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,882,000 after buying an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $793,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth about $241,000. Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth about $342,000. Finally, Providence First Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Providence First Trust Co now owns 3,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,874,000 after buying an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total transaction of $5,358,588.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,276,465.36. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total value of $349,026.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,854.83. This trade represents a 28.64 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,268 shares of company stock valued at $11,536,378 over the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCK. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Bank of America lowered their price target on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho assumed coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W raised McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.79.

McKesson Stock Performance

NYSE:MCK opened at $640.82 on Friday. McKesson Co. has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $641.70. The stock has a market cap of $80.31 billion, a PE ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $594.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $564.17.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted 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%. As a group, analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.