McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on MCK. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of McKesson from $670.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $656.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays increased their price target on McKesson from $596.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $531.00 price objective (down from $603.00) on shares of McKesson in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on McKesson from $660.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.64.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $607.51 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $78.78 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.44. McKesson has a 52 week low of $431.35 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $510.96 and its 200-day moving average is $550.61.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.18. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 242.57% and a net margin of 0.94%. The firm had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $89.33 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $6.23 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson will post 31.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total transaction of $2,105,808.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $44,094,604.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter worth approximately $669,326,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in McKesson by 1,020.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 806,878 shares of the company’s stock worth $398,937,000 after buying an additional 734,849 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 3,621.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 349,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,572,000 after buying an additional 340,007 shares during the period. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter valued at $97,510,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 581.0% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 151,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,776,000 after acquiring an additional 129,031 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by 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.