McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Lifted to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Saturday morning.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on MCK. SVB Leerink initiated coverage on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They issued an outperform rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 30th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $536.71.

McKesson Stock Performance

NYSE:MCK opened at $533.41 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $70.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45. McKesson has a 52 week low of $364.08 and a 52 week high of $544.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $530.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $493.16.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a net margin of 0.99% and a negative return on equity of 262.63%. The company had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $77.93 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $6.90 EPS. McKesson’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McKesson will post 27.59 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,789,074.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in McKesson by 1.7% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,133 shares of the company’s stock worth $608,000 after purchasing an additional 19 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McKesson by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 1,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $700,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Evergreen Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 1,931 shares of the company’s stock valued at $894,000 after buying an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RMR Wealth Builders grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 5.2% during the first quarter. RMR Wealth Builders now owns 464 shares of the company’s stock valued at $249,000 after buying an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.