Short Interest in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) Increases By 29.9%

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 2,495,929 shares, an increase of 29.9% from the March 15th total of 1,921,129 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 855,279 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCK shares. Weiss Ratings lowered McKesson from a “buy (a-)” rating to a “buy (b+)” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $970.00 price objective on McKesson in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays raised their price objective on McKesson from $960.00 to $1,050.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on McKesson from $1,040.00 to $1,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 6th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $970.93.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Maria Martinez sold 349 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $939.87, for a total transaction of $328,014.63. Following the sale, the director directly owned 301 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,900.87. This trade represents a 53.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 328 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $955.00, for a total value of $313,240.00. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 3,592 shares of company stock valued at $3,518,555. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of McKesson by 46.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 2,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,438,000 after acquiring an additional 798 shares in the last quarter. Caxton Associates LLP acquired a new position in McKesson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Sivia Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 77.9% during the 2nd quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 685 shares of the company’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina boosted its position in McKesson by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 58,623 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,958,000 after purchasing an additional 508 shares during the period. Finally, Osterweis Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in McKesson during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $166,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of MCK opened at $862.09 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $105.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $917.65 and a 200-day moving average of $853.54. McKesson has a 52 week low of $637.00 and a 52 week high of $999.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The company reported $9.34 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $9.19 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $106.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $105.98 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 338.97% and a net margin of 1.09%.The business’s revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $8.03 EPS. McKesson has set its FY 2026 guidance at 38.800-39.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McKesson will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 2nd were given a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 9.43%.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company’s core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.