McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $642.00 to $745.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. McKesson traded as high as $695.46 and last traded at $694.12, with a volume of 1203109 shares. The stock had previously closed at $673.69.

MCK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Mizuho began coverage on McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America lowered their price objective on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $656.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value of $114,602.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $600.66, for a total value of $5,382,514.26. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,820,952.50. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,110 shares of company stock worth $10,855,706 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCK. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in McKesson during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Trading Up 3.0 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $629.16 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $582.85. The company has a market capitalization of $86.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.78, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (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%. Analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.41%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 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.