McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Trading Down 6.1% on Analyst Downgrade

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)’s stock price traded down 6.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday after Leerink Partners lowered their price target on the stock from $670.00 to $665.00. Leerink Partners currently has an outperform rating on the stock. McKesson traded as low as $534.80 and last traded at $536.67. 327,622 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 56% from the average session volume of 738,585 shares. The stock had previously closed at $571.28.

Several other research firms also recently commented on MCK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $656.00 to $661.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Argus lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $570.00 to $670.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of McKesson from $547.00 to $545.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $596.00 to $616.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $502.00 to $551.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $624.93.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $626.03, for a total value of $2,349,490.59. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 82,339 shares in the company, valued at $51,546,684.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $585.53, for a total value of $351,318.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 2,022 shares in the company, valued at $1,183,941.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $626.03, for a total value of $2,349,490.59. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 82,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,546,684.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,589 shares of company stock worth $5,163,981 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson during the 2nd quarter worth about $12,331,000. Gordian Capital Singapore Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,090,000. Centennial Bank AR purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $53,000. RiverFront Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $264,000. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of McKesson by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 350,877 shares of the company’s stock worth $204,926,000 after buying an additional 11,184 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Down 9.8 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $66.97 billion, a PE ratio of 23.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $577.92 and a 200-day moving average price of $557.63.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.21 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $79.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $82.53 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 242.57% and a net margin of 0.94%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.14 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Monday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.62. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 12.69%.

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.