McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report released on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of McKesson from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup dropped their price objective on McKesson from $670.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $625.64.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of McKesson stock traded up $8.69 during trading on Thursday, hitting $616.20. 475,917 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 818,728. McKesson has a 12 month low of $431.35 and a 12 month high of $637.51. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $510.96 and its 200 day moving average is $550.61. The stock has a market cap of $79.91 billion, a PE ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.89 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 242.57% and a net margin of 0.94%. The business’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.23 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 31.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.46%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 12.70%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,148,000. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McKesson by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 722 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. BIP Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. BIP Wealth LLC now owns 3,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,544,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,559 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aviance Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of McKesson by 31.6% during the third quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC now owns 820 shares of the company’s stock valued at $405,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. 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.