Morgan Stanley Boosts McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Price Target to $548.00

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $522.00 to $548.00 in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an overweight rating on the stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MCK. UBS Group increased their price objective on McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Leerink Partnrs reaffirmed an outperform rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Mizuho raised their price objective on McKesson from $450.00 to $505.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $533.50.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCK opened at $525.92 on Monday. McKesson has a 1 year low of $352.34 and a 1 year high of $543.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $69.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $523.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $485.48.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The company reported $7.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.69. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 262.63% and a net margin of 0.99%. The firm had revenue of $80.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $77.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $6.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 14.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson will post 27.59 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were paid a $0.62 dividend. This represents a $2.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 11.24%.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in McKesson by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 153,180 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,919,000 after buying an additional 8,784 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in McKesson by 6.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 85,779 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,714,000 after buying an additional 5,425 shares during the period. Insight Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,813,000. Aspire Private Capital LLC increased its position in McKesson by 3.2% during the third quarter. Aspire Private Capital LLC now owns 1,957 shares of the company’s stock worth $851,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. Finally, Argus Investors Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth approximately $891,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

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.