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

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

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Argus raised their price objective on shares of McKesson from $510.00 to $570.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, January 3rd. They set an “overweight” rating and a $537.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $530.00 to $575.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. SVB Leerink began coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Monday, February 26th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $600.00 price target for the company. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of McKesson from $575.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $533.50.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of McKesson stock traded up $4.52 on Thursday, reaching $539.94. 446,710 shares of the company traded hands, 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $527.50 and a 200 day moving average of $488.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $70.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.46, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 186 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $496.00, for a total transaction of $92,256.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $749,456. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,473 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $22,789,074.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McKesson in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in McKesson in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 333.3% during the 1st quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 65 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently 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.