Short Interest in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) Drops By 33.0%

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 14th, there was short interest totaling 2,419,484 shares, a decrease of 33.0% from the July 30th total of 3,613,111 shares. Approximately 2.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 1,116,036 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.2 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MCK shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and set a $875.00 price objective on shares of McKesson in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Citigroup upped their target price on McKesson from $945.00 to $1,000.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group increased their target price on McKesson from $1,050.00 to $1,080.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen raised their price target on McKesson from $989.00 to $1,006.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on McKesson from $812.00 to $933.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McKesson has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $973.44.

McKesson Stock Performance

MCK stock opened at $927.16 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $108.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 0.30. McKesson has a one year low of $682.35 and a one year high of $999.00. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $842.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $842.72.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $9.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.56 by $0.37. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 253.21% and a net margin of 1.12%.The company had revenue of $105.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $103.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $8.26 EPS. McKesson’s revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. McKesson has set its FY 2027 guidance at 44.200-45.000 EPS. Research analysts forecast that McKesson will post 44.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 1st will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 1st. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 10.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In related news, Director Bradley E. Lerman sold 301 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $892.33, for a total value of $268,591.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,463 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $793.56, for a total transaction of $6,715,898.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 5,919 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,697,081.64. The trade was a 58.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 22,289 shares of company stock valued at $17,406,854. Insiders own 0.06% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCK. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Delos Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McKesson in the second quarter valued at about $27,000. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in McKesson in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McKesson

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.