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

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Baird R W upgraded McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.79.

McKesson Trading Up 1.3 %

MCK stock opened at $602.73 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $587.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $562.90. McKesson has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The company has a market cap of $76.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a P/E/G ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. On average, equities research analysts expect that McKesson will post 32.69 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,346 shares of company stock valued at $795,275. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its position in McKesson by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares during the period. Commerce Bank grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 156,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its position in McKesson by 867.7% during the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares in the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,018,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in McKesson by 20.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,606,000 after buying an additional 162,688 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.