McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) is Scharf Investments LLC’s 3rd Largest Position

Scharf Investments LLC reduced its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 11.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 389,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 49,097 shares during the quarter. McKesson accounts for approximately 6.6% of Scharf Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Scharf Investments LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $222,166,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson in the second quarter valued at $12,331,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund increased its position in shares of McKesson by 206.7% in the 2nd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 460 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,000 after purchasing an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 23.4% in the 2nd quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 348 shares of the company’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its stake in McKesson by 101.1% in the third quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 1,504 shares of the company’s stock worth $744,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its stake in McKesson by 6.6% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 26,416 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,061,000 after purchasing an additional 1,645 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of several research reports. Leerink Partners dropped their price target on McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $646.14.

McKesson Price Performance

MCK opened at $594.85 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $591.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $562.12. The company has a market capitalization of $75.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a 1-year low of $464.42 and a 1-year 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 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.23 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is 14.71%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.