McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Strong-Buy

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on MCK. SVB Leerink began coverage on McKesson in a report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of McKesson from $522.00 to $548.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Leerink Partnrs reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $533.50.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK traded up $4.52 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $539.94. 446,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 686,906. McKesson has a 52-week low of $352.34 and a 52-week high of $543.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $527.50 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $488.84. The company has a market capitalization of $70.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a P/E/G ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $80.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $6.90 earnings per share. McKesson’s quarterly revenue was up 14.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 27.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total value of $1,821,762.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $524.55, for a total value of $1,821,762.15. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,789,074.75. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total value of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares in the company, valued at $749,456. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in McKesson by 6.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 153,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,919,000 after acquiring an additional 8,784 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in McKesson by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 85,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,714,000 after acquiring an additional 5,425 shares during the last quarter. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC grew its position in McKesson by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $891,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.