UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Stock Price

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) had its price target upped by UBS Group from $820.00 to $860.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on McKesson from $785.00 to $850.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on McKesson from $775.00 to $856.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $810.00 price target (up from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of McKesson from $772.00 to $816.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $826.91.

McKesson Stock Up 2.6%

MCK stock opened at $760.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $696.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $697.91. The company has a market capitalization of $94.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.51. McKesson has a fifty-two week low of $472.29 and a fifty-two week high of $770.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.33 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $97.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $95.93 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 196.66% and a net margin of 0.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.88 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be given a $0.82 dividend. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 13.08%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total transaction of $218,347.43. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $436,031.19. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $708.09, for a total value of $13,716,411.39. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,872 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,735,884.48. This represents a 41.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 43,560 shares of company stock worth $30,438,602. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in McKesson by 75,632.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,610,567,000 after buying an additional 2,389,992 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the second quarter worth $1,346,661,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 150.4% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,268,015 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,661,956,000 after acquiring an additional 1,362,386 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the first quarter valued at $475,235,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its position in McKesson by 56.4% during the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,236,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $906,109,000 after purchasing an additional 446,060 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.