Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 3,152 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Lazard Asset Management LLC cut its stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 18,272 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,152 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McKesson were worth $10,412,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in McKesson by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in McKesson in the fourth quarter worth $3,018,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC grew its position in McKesson by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC grew its position in McKesson by 85.0% in the fourth quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $745,000 after acquiring an additional 580 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in McKesson by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 10,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,969,000 after acquiring an additional 3,137 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total value of $5,358,588.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,664 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Cfra Research lowered shares of McKesson from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $642.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $686.69.

McKesson Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $682.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $85.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $680.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $623.83. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $728.48.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.83 by $0.29. The firm had revenue of $90.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $94 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 10.99%.

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.