McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Holdings Raised by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,648 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 7,515 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.22% of McKesson worth $162,224,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Old North State Trust LLC boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 1,138 shares of the company's stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 18 shares during the last quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its position in shares of McKesson by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 393 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management raised its position in shares of McKesson by 18.6% during the 4th quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC raised its position in shares of McKesson by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Black Diamond Financial LLC now owns 1,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Calamos Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of McKesson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,677 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,665,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 69,625 shares in the company, valued at $41,820,952.50. The trade was a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 10,307 shares of company stock valued at $6,177,790 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America dropped their price target on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Robert W. Baird raised 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 research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $645.79.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MCK traded down $5.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $597.68. 671,026 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 745,545. The firm has a market cap of $74.91 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson Co. has a fifty-two week low of $464.42 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $589.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $562.38.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. As a group, analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

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