McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Stock Rating Upgraded by StockNews.com

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on MCK. Leerink Partnrs restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. SVB Leerink assumed coverage on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup upped their target price on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price target on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $536.71.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK stock opened at $528.85 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $69.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.96, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $530.13 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $491.57. McKesson has a 1 year low of $352.34 and a 1 year 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $6.90 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the company’s 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its position in shares of McKesson by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 2,275 shares of the company’s stock worth $989,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McKesson during the 3rd quarter valued at $241,000. Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in McKesson by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 1,019 shares of the company’s stock worth $443,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 5.8% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,066 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,768,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in shares of McKesson by 12.5% during the third quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,005 shares of the company’s stock valued at $437,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.