McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Buy

StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MCK. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on McKesson from $694.00 to $671.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Argus boosted their price target on McKesson from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on McKesson from $660.00 to $630.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group boosted their price target on McKesson from $620.00 to $630.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on McKesson from $596.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $601.47.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK traded down $6.36 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $541.15. 1,742,142 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 736,197. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $591.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $550.58. McKesson has a twelve month low of $404.72 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $70.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.45.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.21 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $79.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.53 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 245.88% and a net margin of 0.97%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.27 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McKesson will post 31.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 789 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.40, for a total value of $439,788.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,408,476.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 789 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $557.40, for a total value of $439,788.60. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 7,909 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,408,476.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Britt J. Vitalone sold 12,752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $558.09, for a total value of $7,116,763.68. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 14,028 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,828,886.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,714 shares of company stock worth $18,703,160 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCK. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 333.3% during the first quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 65 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 50 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.