McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twelve analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $533.50.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MCK shares. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Leerink Partnrs reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays began coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $537.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $539.94 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $527.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $488.84. McKesson has a 1-year low of $352.34 and a 1-year high of $543.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $70.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $80.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $77.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $6.90 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson will post 27.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 11.24%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total value of $1,821,762.15. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of McKesson by 16.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,148,794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,238,953,000 after buying an additional 708,438 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of McKesson by 14.0% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 2,398,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,042,937,000 after buying an additional 294,832 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,024,140,000. Putnam Investments LLC raised its position in shares of McKesson by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 1,997,963 shares of the company’s stock valued at $925,017,000 after buying an additional 62,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its position in shares of McKesson by 3.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,595,162 shares of the company’s stock valued at $693,656,000 after buying an additional 50,265 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.