McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) Short Interest Up 25.5% in February

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,870,000 shares, an increase of 25.5% from the January 31st total of 1,490,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 763,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.4 days. Currently, 1.5% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho initiated coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price target for the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.79.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total transaction of $5,382,514.26. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares in the company, valued at $41,820,952.50. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total transaction of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 19,268 shares of company stock worth $11,536,378. 0.11% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of McKesson by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,175,000 after acquiring an additional 138,685 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in McKesson by 17.3% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,467,557,000 after buying an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in McKesson by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,847,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,622,754,000 after acquiring an additional 222,496 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,663,303 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,513,195,000 after purchasing an additional 10,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in McKesson by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,620,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,493,704,000 after purchasing an additional 114,396 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

NYSE MCK traded up $6.70 on Friday, hitting $648.39. 128,463 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 778,823. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $599.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $566.69. The company has a market capitalization of $81.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. McKesson has a 52-week low of $464.42 and a 52-week high of $653.92.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.60 by ($0.57). McKesson had a net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. Equities analysts predict that McKesson will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.44%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 13.00%.

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.