Leerink Partnrs Has Strong Forecast for McKesson Q3 Earnings

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) – Equities research analysts at Leerink Partnrs increased their Q3 2026 EPS estimates for McKesson in a research report issued on Thursday, August 7th. Leerink Partnrs analyst M. Cherny now expects that the company will earn $9.77 per share for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $9.74. The consensus estimate for McKesson’s current full-year earnings is $32.77 per share. Leerink Partnrs also issued estimates for McKesson’s FY2026 earnings at $37.54 EPS, FY2027 earnings at $42.42 EPS and FY2028 earnings at $48.15 EPS.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a negative return on equity of 196.66% and a net margin of 0.84%. The company had revenue of $97.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $7.88 earnings per share. McKesson’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% on a year-over-year basis.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on MCK. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 target price on shares of McKesson and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen cut shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $718.73.

McKesson Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of MCK stock opened at $667.14 on Friday. McKesson has a 1 year low of $464.42 and a 1 year high of $737.89. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $714.12 and its 200-day moving average is $679.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.50.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.82 per share. This is a boost from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 10.99%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Thomas L. Rodgers sold 2,891 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $712.18, for a total transaction of $2,058,912.38. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 2,544 shares in the company, valued at $1,811,785.92. This trade represents a 53.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 341 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.91, for a total transaction of $244,807.31. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 2,800 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,010,148. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 52,488 shares of company stock worth $37,242,862 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.08% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in McKesson by 54.0% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,056,000 after buying an additional 1,592 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 778 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 18.9% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 23,033 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,501,000 after purchasing an additional 3,659 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 183,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $123,332,000 after purchasing an additional 7,556 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 155,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,950,000 after purchasing an additional 17,750 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.