StockNews.com Upgrades McKesson (NYSE:MCK) to Strong-Buy

StockNews.com upgraded shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report published on Saturday.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. SVB Leerink started coverage on McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Argus boosted their price objective on McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 30th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $536.71.

McKesson Stock Performance

NYSE:MCK traded down $1.41 on Friday, hitting $528.86. The stock had a trading volume of 866,981 shares, compared to its average volume of 626,262. McKesson has a 1 year low of $352.34 and a 1 year high of $544.81. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $530.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $492.08. The stock has a market cap of $69.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.99% and a negative return on equity of 262.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $6.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that McKesson will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.62 per share. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.24%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total transaction of $1,821,762.15. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCK. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in McKesson by 16.0% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,148,794 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,238,953,000 after acquiring an additional 708,438 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 14.0% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,398,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,042,937,000 after buying an additional 294,832 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at $1,024,140,000. Putnam Investments LLC increased its position in shares of McKesson by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 1,997,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,017,000 after acquiring an additional 62,242 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 3.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,595,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $693,656,000 after purchasing an additional 50,265 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Company 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.