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

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $892.8571.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on McKesson from $857.00 to $916.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $750.00 to $770.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Monday, December 22nd. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of McKesson from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of McKesson from $920.00 to $980.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 6th.

McKesson Price Performance

McKesson stock opened at $816.53 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $100.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.41. McKesson has a one year low of $570.51 and a one year high of $895.58. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $834.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $762.67.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st were given a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 1st. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 10.21%.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 276 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $816.18, for a total value of $225,265.68. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,268 shares in the company, valued at $1,851,096.24. This represents a 10.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,614.64. This trade represents a 50.08% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.08% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McKesson by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,072,090 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,846,186,000 after buying an additional 232,286 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in McKesson by 0.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,750,519 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,447,110,000 after acquiring an additional 51,510 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in McKesson by 4.1% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,820,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,057,065,000 after purchasing an additional 112,224 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in McKesson by 3.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,681,321 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,071,428,000 after purchasing an additional 90,948 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its stake in McKesson by 5.6% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,394,699 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,850,001,000 after purchasing an additional 126,684 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

About McKesson

McKesson Corporation (NYSE: MCK) is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company’s core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.