McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) 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.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on MCK. Bank of America dropped their price target on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup reduced 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 lowered shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised 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. Finally, Mizuho started coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $656.71.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the business’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 $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 69,625 shares in the company, valued at $41,820,952.50. This trade represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,110 shares of company stock worth $10,855,706. 0.11% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Capital A Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Trading Up 3.0 %

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $629.16 and its 200-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 P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts forecast that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.