McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) Short Interest Update

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) was the target of a significant growth in short interest in the month of May. As of May 29th, there was short interest totaling 5,237,307 shares, a growth of 81.9% from the May 14th total of 2,879,151 shares. Currently, 4.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,583,536 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Leerink Partners reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,085.00 price target on shares of McKesson in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. William Blair started coverage on McKesson in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $875.00 price objective on shares of McKesson in a report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of McKesson from $1,040.00 to $1,000.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $960.53.

McKesson Trading Up 0.9%

MCK traded up $6.77 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $786.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 659,064 shares, compared to its average volume of 895,580. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $795.97 and its 200-day moving average is $845.41. The firm has a market capitalization of $94.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.31. McKesson has a 1 year low of $637.00 and a 1 year high of $999.00.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $11.69 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $11.56 by $0.13. McKesson had a net margin of 1.18% and a negative return on equity of 345.35%. The business had revenue of $96.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $101.35 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. McKesson has set its FY 2027 guidance at 43.800-44.600 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McKesson will post 44.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 1st. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is currently 8.53%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Michele Lau sold 3,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $761.09, for a total value of $2,701,869.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,471,259.23. This represents a 52.23% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,388 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $761.09, for a total transaction of $1,817,482.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,090 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,351,768.10. This represents a 43.59% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 11,822 shares of company stock valued at $8,986,212. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Cullen Investment Group LTD. grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 550.4% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 4,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,811,000 after purchasing an additional 3,952 shares in the last quarter. Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,887,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its position in McKesson by 18.8% in the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 10,009 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,732,000 after purchasing an additional 1,585 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in McKesson by 24.3% in the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 242,256 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,152,000 after purchasing an additional 47,352 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its position in McKesson by 7.5% in the third quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 61,287 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,347,000 after purchasing an additional 4,260 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.