McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Stock Position Lessened by Calamos Advisors LLC

Calamos Advisors LLC decreased its holdings in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 22.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 54,816 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,012 shares during the quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $25,379,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MCK. Covestor Ltd grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 72.3% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 81 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter worth $26,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter worth $27,000. Live Oak Investment Partners bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at $31,000. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCK has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 4th. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho upped their price objective on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $533.50.

McKesson Price Performance

McKesson stock traded down $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $518.33. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 105,215 shares, compared to its average volume of 681,270. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $524.44 and its 200 day moving average is $485.71. The company has a market cap of $68.11 billion, a PE ratio of 23.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson Co. has a 52-week low of $352.34 and a 52-week high of $543.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. The firm had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $6.90 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 11.24%.

McKesson 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.