McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its position in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 0.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,506,552 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,184 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 1.97% of McKesson worth $1,235,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MCK. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in McKesson by 5.1% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,391 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,678,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Castellan Group raised its position in shares of McKesson by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Castellan Group now owns 10,200 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,043,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in McKesson by 453.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 52,992 shares of the company's stock worth $26,200,000 after purchasing an additional 43,424 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in McKesson by 817.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,622 shares of the company's stock worth $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 5,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McKesson during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $2,229,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $656.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Citigroup increased their price objective on McKesson from $630.00 to $713.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Baird R W raised McKesson from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of McKesson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $643.43.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Monday, December 9th. The shares were 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 $869,854.83. The trade was a 28.64 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McKesson Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of McKesson stock traded down $3.05 on Friday, reaching $576.24. The company's stock had a trading volume of 494,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 816,852. McKesson Co. has a 52-week low of $431.35 and a 52-week high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $73.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.98, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $562.18 and a 200-day moving average price of $562.53.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. The firm's revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $6.23 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McKesson's payout ratio is 14.71%.

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.