McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Upgraded at Robert W. Baird

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) was upgraded by analysts at Robert W. Baird from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Briefing.com reports. The firm presently has a $688.00 target price on the stock, up from their previous target price of $531.00. Robert W. Baird’s price target suggests a potential upside of 25.25% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Leerink Partners lowered their price target on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $630.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price 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. Baird R W cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of McKesson from $670.00 to $630.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on McKesson from $596.00 to $616.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $622.07.

McKesson Stock Up 4.6 %

McKesson stock opened at $549.31 on Thursday. McKesson has a 52 week low of $431.35 and a 52 week high of $637.51. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $510.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $550.61. The stock has a market cap of $71.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.44.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The company reported $7.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.21 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $79.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $82.53 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 242.57% and a net margin of 0.94%. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $7.27 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 31.92 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 3,753 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $561.10, for a total transaction of $2,105,808.30. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 78,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,094,604.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Swedbank AB bought a new position in shares of McKesson during the first quarter valued at $669,326,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in McKesson by 1,020.2% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 806,878 shares of the company’s stock valued at $398,937,000 after acquiring an additional 734,849 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 3,621.7% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 349,395 shares of the company’s stock valued at $187,572,000 after acquiring an additional 340,007 shares in the last quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. bought a new stake in McKesson during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $97,510,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in McKesson by 581.0% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 151,240 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,776,000 after purchasing an additional 129,031 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.