Brokerages Set McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Price Target at $646.14

Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $646.14.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their target price on McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Leerink Partners decreased their price target on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK opened at $603.75 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $592.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $561.13. McKesson has a 1-year low of $464.42 and a 1-year high of $637.51. The stock has a market cap of $76.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 207.50% and a net margin of 0.77%. The company had revenue of $93.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $6.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson will post 32.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio is presently 14.71%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $602.81, for a total transaction of $349,026.99. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $869,854.83. This trade represents a 28.64 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in McKesson by 1,020.2% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 806,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,937,000 after buying an additional 734,849 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after acquiring an additional 438,423 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in McKesson by 55.8% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,189,377 shares of the company’s stock valued at $588,048,000 after purchasing an additional 425,875 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in McKesson by 126.8% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 574,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,903,000 after purchasing an additional 321,119 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in McKesson by 20.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $558,606,000 after purchasing an additional 162,688 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.