McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Cut to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

MCK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Bank of America reduced their target price on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Robert W. Baird upgraded McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $645.79.

McKesson Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of MCK opened at $593.82 on Friday. McKesson has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $637.51. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $587.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $562.76. The firm has a market cap of $75.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.19, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. Equities research analysts forecast that McKesson will post 32.69 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.48%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total transaction of $114,602.92. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,346 shares of company stock worth $795,275. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,339 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,903,000 after acquiring an additional 189 shares during the period. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. boosted its position in McKesson by 350.0% during the 4th quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. now owns 144 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Keel Point LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Keel Point LLC now owns 818 shares of the company’s stock worth $466,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares during the period. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group boosted its position in McKesson by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Rehmann Capital Advisory Group now owns 2,436 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Voleon Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth about $4,103,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

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.