McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $892.8571.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MCK shares. Bank of America increased their target price on McKesson from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Mizuho upped their price objective on McKesson from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on McKesson from $821.00 to $853.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Zacks Research cut McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on McKesson from $820.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of MCK opened at $810.89 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $825.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $750.80. McKesson has a 52-week low of $565.75 and a 52-week high of $895.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.09 billion, a PE ratio of 25.24, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.38.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $9.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.84 by $1.02. McKesson had a net margin of 1.04% and a negative return on equity of 248.14%. The firm had revenue of $103.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $103.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $7.07 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that McKesson will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.21%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $861.63, for a total value of $283,476.27. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 328 shares in the company, valued at approximately $282,614.64. This represents a 50.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCK. GGM Financials LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Solstein Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 171.4% during the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 38 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 24 shares during the period. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of McKesson during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. GFG Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the third quarter worth approximately $31,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.