McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Baird R W

Baird R W upgraded shares of McKesson (NYSE:MCK) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Thursday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on MCK. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased 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. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. 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 note on Wednesday, August 21st. Mizuho boosted their price target on McKesson from $540.00 to $570.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Leerink Partners decreased their price objective on McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $625.64.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK traded up $8.69 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $616.20. 475,917 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 818,728. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $510.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $550.61. McKesson has a fifty-two week low of $431.35 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The stock has a market cap of $79.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.89 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $89.33 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.94% and a negative return on equity of 242.57%. The business’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $6.23 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that McKesson will post 31.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.46%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.70%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total transaction of $2,105,808.30. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. LRI Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in McKesson in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 742.9% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in McKesson during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Finally, Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. bought a new position in McKesson during the second quarter worth $52,000. 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.