Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 813 shares of the company’s stock after selling 220 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $464,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,175,000 after acquiring an additional 138,685 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.3% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,653,288 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,306,873,000 after buying an additional 26,299 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 55.8% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,048,000 after buying an additional 425,875 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,606,000 after buying an additional 162,688 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Stock Down 0.7 %

NYSE MCK opened at $595.77 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $589.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $562.81. McKesson Co. has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $75.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. Research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.72 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.00%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total transaction of $349,026.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W raised McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup dropped their target price on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $645.79.

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.