McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on MCK. Robert W. Baird raised McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Mizuho started coverage on McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.79.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $593.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $587.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $563.18. McKesson has a one year low of $464.42 and a one year high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. Sell-side analysts predict that McKesson will post 32.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,346 shares of company stock valued at $795,275. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC grew its stake in McKesson by 742.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Company Profile

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.