McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Sees Large Decline in Short Interest

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, a decrease of 23.0% from the December 15th total of 2,040,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 817,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCK. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $560.00 to $680.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $531.00 to $688.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $646.14.

McKesson Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE MCK traded down $2.50 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $592.69. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 686,346 shares, compared to its average volume of 648,304. McKesson has a fifty-two week low of $464.42 and a fifty-two week high of $637.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.69, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $595.51 and a 200-day simple moving average of $561.29.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The company reported $7.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.88 by $0.19. McKesson had a net margin of 0.77% and a negative return on equity of 207.50%. The business had revenue of $93.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $89.33 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $6.23 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 21.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McKesson will post 32.73 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.48%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 14.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total transaction of $331,645.41. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $494,890.56. This represents a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 742.9% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 59 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of McKesson by 51.9% in the fourth quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 82 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by 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.