McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)’s share price hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $666.99 and last traded at $664.09, with a volume of 753756 shares. The stock had previously closed at $661.61.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCK has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Bank of America cut their target price on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Mizuho began coverage on McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com lowered McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $649.36.

McKesson Stock Performance

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $614.59 and its 200-day moving average is $573.65. The firm has a market cap of $82.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

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

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares in the company, valued at approximately $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total transaction of $5,358,588.39. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. The trade was a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,689 shares of company stock worth $11,187,351 in the last quarter. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,542,000 after purchasing an additional 1,207 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC increased its stake in McKesson by 867.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,690 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,018,000. Ingalls & Snyder LLC increased its stake in McKesson by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,047 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in McKesson by 20.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 975,935 shares of the company’s stock valued at $558,606,000 after acquiring an additional 162,688 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

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.