McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Upgraded at StockNews.com

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

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Barclays began coverage on McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They issued an overweight rating and a $537.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. SVB Leerink began coverage on McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $533.50.

McKesson Stock Performance

NYSE MCK opened at $543.30 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $528.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $489.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson has a fifty-two week low of $352.34 and a fifty-two week high of $544.81.

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

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 31st. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.24%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter worth about $1,024,140,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of McKesson by 1,044.5% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 821,262 shares of the company’s stock worth $380,228,000 after acquiring an additional 749,504 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of McKesson by 202.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 602,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $278,778,000 after acquiring an additional 403,312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of McKesson by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,398,380 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,042,937,000 after acquiring an additional 294,832 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

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.