McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $645.79.

MCK has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho initiated coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $630.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th.

Remove Ads

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MCK opened at $653.54 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $604.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $568.96. McKesson has a 52 week low of $464.42 and a 52 week high of $663.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $81.91 billion, a PE ratio of 29.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. As a group, research analysts forecast that McKesson will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. McKesson's payout ratio is 13.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total value of $5,358,588.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,444,175,000 after acquiring an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,847,385 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,622,754,000 after acquiring an additional 222,496 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,663,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,513,195,000 after acquiring an additional 10,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McKesson by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,620,948 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,493,704,000 after acquiring an additional 114,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.