StockNews.com Lowers McKesson (NYSE:MCK) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Friday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McKesson from $656.00 to $661.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Leerink Partners dropped their target price on shares of McKesson from $670.00 to $665.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $590.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on McKesson from $596.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $613.36.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE MCK opened at $488.25 on Friday. McKesson has a one year low of $431.35 and a one year high of $637.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $550.84 and its 200-day moving average is $555.82. The firm has a market cap of $63.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.21 by $0.67. The firm had revenue of $79.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $82.53 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.94% and a negative return on equity of 242.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.27 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 32.07 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.58%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 12.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.03, for a total value of $2,349,490.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $51,546,684.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,259 shares of company stock worth $6,635,492. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 1.1% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,362,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,342,190,000 after buying an additional 46,659 shares during the period. Putnam Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Putnam Investments LLC now owns 1,997,963 shares of the company’s stock worth $925,017,000 after purchasing an additional 62,242 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its position in shares of McKesson by 2.9% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,297,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,862,000 after purchasing an additional 36,583 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $669,326,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in McKesson by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 1,183,829 shares of the company’s stock worth $635,763,000 after buying an additional 47,140 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently 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.