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

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of McKesson from $670.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of McKesson from $623.00 to $579.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of McKesson from $576.00 to $535.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Baird R W cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 24th. Finally, Leerink Partners reduced their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $610.86.

McKesson Stock Performance

MCK traded up $24.03 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $549.31. 1,686,871 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 812,653. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $510.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $550.61. McKesson has a twelve month low of $431.35 and a twelve month high of $637.51. The stock has a market cap of $71.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.21 by $0.67. McKesson had a net margin of 0.94% and a negative return on equity of 242.57%. The firm had revenue of $79.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.53 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.27 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that McKesson will post 31.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total transaction of $2,105,808.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 78,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in McKesson during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 742.9% in 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 during the period. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Carmichael Hill & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the second quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Centennial Bank AR acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the second quarter valued at approximately $53,000. 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.