Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 4,642 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 277,133 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,642 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.22% of McKesson worth $137,020,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MCK. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 1,020.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 806,878 shares of the company's stock valued at $398,937,000 after acquiring an additional 734,849 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 17.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 425,875 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 126.8% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 574,440 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,903,000 after acquiring an additional 321,119 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after acquiring an additional 138,685 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company's stock.

McKesson Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE MCK traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $579.74. 2,057,107 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 826,781. The firm has a market capitalization of $73.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.02, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $571.41 and a 200 day simple moving average of $563.00. McKesson Co. has a twelve month low of $445.06 and a twelve month high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. McKesson's quarterly revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.49%. McKesson's payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MCK shares. StockNews.com raised McKesson from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup increased their target price on McKesson from $630.00 to $713.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $650.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total value of $349,026.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,443 shares in the company, valued at $869,854.83. This trade represents a 28.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.