Leann B. Smith Sells 579 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Stock

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

McKesson Trading Up 2.0 %

MCK stock opened at $577.44 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $584.70 and its 200 day simple moving average is $562.11. McKesson Co. has a 12-month low of $464.42 and a 12-month high of $637.51. The firm has a market cap of $73.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $6.23 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.71%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MCK has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W upgraded shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Leerink Partners cut their price target on McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $650.14.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC lifted its stake in McKesson by 742.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in McKesson during the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR bought a new stake in shares of McKesson during the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 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.