Analysts Set McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) Target Price at $834.54

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $834.5385.

Several research firms recently issued reports on MCK. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $820.00 to $860.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, September 28th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $785.00 to $850.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of McKesson in a research report on Saturday.

Insider Activity

In other McKesson news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total transaction of $218,347.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $436,031.19. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 11,930 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.63, for a total transaction of $8,418,165.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,830,987.56. The trade was a 74.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,189 shares of company stock valued at $16,722,190 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 54.0% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after acquiring an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,501,000 after acquiring an additional 3,659 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 378,926 shares of the company’s stock worth $254,979,000 after purchasing an additional 68,294 shares in the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 1st quarter worth approximately $289,000. Finally, Archford Capital Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 151.8% in the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 2,276 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,000 after purchasing an additional 1,372 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of MCK opened at $802.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $99.77 billion, a PE ratio of 31.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $728.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $714.24. McKesson has a fifty-two week low of $492.39 and a fifty-two week high of $807.75.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.33 by ($0.07). The company had revenue of $97.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.93 billion. McKesson had a net margin of 0.84% and a negative return on equity of 196.66%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.88 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were given a $0.82 dividend. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is an increase from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 13.08%.

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.