McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $610.86.

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of McKesson from $670.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price objective on shares of McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $531.00 target price (down previously from $603.00) on shares of McKesson in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price target on McKesson from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total transaction of $2,105,808.30. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 78,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCK. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McKesson by 15.1% in the third quarter. Kinsale Capital Group Inc. now owns 10,717 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,299,000 after buying an additional 1,407 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in McKesson by 730.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 83,170 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,121,000 after acquiring an additional 73,149 shares in the last quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in McKesson by 11.1% during the third quarter. Birchcreek Wealth Management LLC now owns 490 shares of the company’s stock worth $242,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 166.7% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 35,745 shares of the company’s stock valued at $17,673,000 after purchasing an additional 22,342 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in McKesson by 1.6% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 4,778 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,362,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Up 4.6 %

NYSE MCK opened at $549.31 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $510.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $550.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $71.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.44. McKesson has a 12-month low of $431.35 and a 12-month high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.21 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $79.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.53 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 242.57% and a net margin of 0.94%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $7.27 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McKesson will post 31.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 12.70%.

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.