McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $650.14.

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of McKesson from $630.00 to $713.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total transaction of $349,026.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,854.83. The trade was a 28.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its position in shares of McKesson by 742.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in McKesson in the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. bought a new position in McKesson in the second quarter valued at $52,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $569.91 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $580.71 and a 200 day simple moving average of $562.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $72.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.51, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.49. McKesson has a one year low of $462.70 and a one year high of $637.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. McKesson’s quarterly revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.23 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson will post 32.73 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.71%.

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.