McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Friday morning.

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Argus raised their price target on McKesson from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Baird R W lowered shares of McKesson from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $613.36.

McKesson Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of McKesson stock opened at $494.42 on Friday. McKesson has a 52 week low of $431.35 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The company has a market capitalization of $64.24 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $549.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $555.57.

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

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.57%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.69%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.03, for a total transaction of $2,349,490.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 82,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,546,684.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 11,259 shares of company stock valued at $6,635,492 in the last three months. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson in the first quarter valued at approximately $669,326,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its holdings in McKesson by 3,621.7% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 349,395 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,572,000 after acquiring an additional 340,007 shares in the last quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in McKesson in the 1st quarter worth $97,510,000. Third Point LLC acquired a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth $76,392,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in McKesson by 134.6% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 220,619 shares of the company’s stock valued at $128,850,000 after purchasing an additional 126,567 shares in the last quarter. 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.