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

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

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on MCK. Mizuho increased their price target on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Argus increased their price target on McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. SVB Leerink began coverage on McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an outperform rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an outperform rating on shares of McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $533.50.

McKesson Stock Up 0.6 %

McKesson stock opened at $543.30 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $71.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson has a 52 week low of $352.34 and a 52 week high of $544.81. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $528.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $489.95.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. The firm 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%. McKesson’s revenue for the quarter 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. Equities analysts expect that McKesson will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at $22,789,074.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 16.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,148,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,238,953,000 after buying an additional 708,438 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley grew 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 valued at $1,042,937,000 after buying an additional 294,832 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at $1,024,140,000. Putnam Investments LLC grew its stake 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 buying an additional 62,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 3.3% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,595,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,656,000 after buying an additional 50,265 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.