McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• McKesson has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy” from 17 brokerages, with 14 buy ratings and 3 hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is about $962.67.
• The company recently reported Q1 earnings of $11.69 per share, topping estimates, while revenue rose 6.0% year over year to $96.3 billion. McKesson also raised its full-year FY2027 EPS guidance to 43.8–44.6.
• McKesson increased its quarterly dividend to $0.94 per share from $0.82, a 15% hike, though the yield remains modest at about 0.4%. Insider selling has also been notable, including recent sales by senior executives under pre-arranged trading plans.

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $962.6667.

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $875.00 price objective on shares of McKesson in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America decreased their target price on McKesson from $1,040.00 to $1,000.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Wall Street Zen lowered McKesson from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on McKesson from $1,107.00 to $1,015.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on McKesson from $925.00 to $812.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th.

McKesson Trading Up 2.0%

MCK stock opened at $840.76 on Friday. The company's 50-day moving average price is $780.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $838.46. McKesson has a 52 week low of $637.00 and a 52 week high of $999.00. The company has a market cap of $98.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.31.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The company reported $11.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $11.56 by $0.13. McKesson had a net margin of 1.18% and a negative return on equity of 345.35%. The company had revenue of $96.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $101.35 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $10.12 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. McKesson has set its FY 2027 guidance at 43.800-44.600 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that McKesson will post 44.28 earnings per share for the current year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.94 per share. This is an increase from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. McKesson's payout ratio is 9.77%.

Key McKesson News

Here are the key news stories impacting McKesson this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McKesson boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.94 per share from $0.82, signaling management confidence in cash flow and returning more capital to shareholders. McKesson Raises Quarterly Dividend by 15%
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholders backed the board, auditors, and executive compensation at the annual meeting, reducing governance uncertainty. McKesson Shareholders Back Board, Auditors, and Executive Pay
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary from analysts has been mixed, with one piece noting conflicting views on McKesson and other healthcare names, which may keep sentiment balanced in the near term. Analysts Have Conflicting Sentiments on These Healthcare Companies
• Neutral Sentiment: TD Cowen reportedly lowered expectations for McKesson’s stock price, adding a cautionary note despite the company’s strong operational backdrop. TD Cowen Has Lowered Expectations for McKesson NYSE: MCK Stock Price

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Michele Lau sold 3,550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $761.09, for a total value of $2,701,869.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,247 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,471,259.23. This represents a 52.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 133 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $764.00, for a total transaction of $101,612.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $482,848. This trade represents a 17.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,748 shares of company stock worth $22,262,035. 0.06% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCK. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Birchwood Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Company Profile

McKesson Corporation NYSE: MCK is a global healthcare services and distribution company that supplies pharmaceuticals, medical-surgical products and health care technology solutions. Founded in 1833 and headquartered in Irving, Texas, McKesson operates across the drug distribution and healthcare services value chain, connecting manufacturers, pharmacies, hospitals and health systems to help manage the movement of medicines and clinical supplies.

The company's core activities include pharmaceutical wholesale distribution and logistics, specialty pharmacy services, and the provision of medical-surgical supplies to acute and non-acute care providers.

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