McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $533.50.

MCK has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays initiated coverage on McKesson in a report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $537.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their target price on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 72.3% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 81 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 34 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in McKesson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of MCK opened at $524.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $68.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson has a one year low of $352.34 and a one year high of $543.00. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $524.91 and its 200-day moving average is $486.65.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.69. The company had revenue of $80.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.93 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.90 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that McKesson will post 27.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $0.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $2.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 11.24%.

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.