McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on MCK. Zacks Research raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on McKesson from $821.00 to $853.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of McKesson in a research report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $873.00 to $927.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $775.00 to $856.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned 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 a consensus target price of $887.69.

McKesson Stock Up 0.8%

MCK opened at $858.96 on Friday. McKesson has a 52 week low of $558.13 and a 52 week high of $867.63. The stock has a market cap of $106.84 billion, a PE ratio of 34.25, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day moving average of $760.99 and a 200-day moving average of $725.68.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.84 by $1.02. The business had revenue of $103.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.80 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 196.66% and a net margin of 0.84%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 10.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $7.07 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. 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 currently 10.21%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 11,930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.63, for a total transaction of $8,418,165.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,012 shares in the company, valued at $2,830,987.56. This trade represents a 74.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $861.63, for a total transaction of $283,476.27. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 328 shares in the company, valued at $282,614.64. This represents a 50.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 24,189 shares of company stock valued at $16,787,319. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. GGM Financials LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson during the third quarter worth $25,000. Solstein Capital LLC increased its position in McKesson by 171.4% during the 2nd quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 38 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, GFG Capital LLC bought a new position in McKesson in the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.