MetLife Investment Management LLC Reduces Holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 36,267 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,057 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $17,931,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in McKesson by 2.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after buying an additional 138,685 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in McKesson by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after purchasing an additional 438,423 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in McKesson by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,297,620 shares of the company’s stock worth $757,862,000 after purchasing an additional 36,583 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in McKesson by 55.8% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock worth $588,048,000 after purchasing an additional 425,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners increased its stake in McKesson by 4.1% in the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,183,829 shares of the company’s stock valued at $635,763,000 after purchasing an additional 47,140 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $626.54 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $537.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $558.92. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $431.35 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $79.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.23 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Leerink Partners decreased their target price on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Baird R W raised McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $596.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $631.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total transaction of $2,105,808.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,586 shares in the company, valued at $44,094,604.60. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

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.