Marshall Wace LLP Increases Stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 59,720.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 358,922 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 358,322 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned about 0.28% of McKesson worth $204,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in McKesson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,663,303 shares of the company's stock worth $1,513,195,000 after acquiring an additional 10,015 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,620,948 shares of the company's stock worth $1,493,704,000 after purchasing an additional 114,396 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,200,361,000. Boston Partners increased its holdings in McKesson by 24.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,096,301 shares of the company's stock worth $625,501,000 after buying an additional 216,432 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in McKesson by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company's stock worth $558,606,000 after buying an additional 162,688 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total value of $5,382,514.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,820,952.50. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,110 shares of company stock worth $10,855,706 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Cfra Research cut McKesson from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com lowered McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $668.50.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of MCK stock traded up $2.52 on Friday, hitting $697.22. 1,044,943 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 888,394. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $651.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $599.41. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $728.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $87.38 billion, a PE ratio of 31.92, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.