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

Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading 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 Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America cut their target price on McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Mizuho initiated coverage on McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $649.36.

McKesson Trading Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $82.65 billion, a PE ratio of 30.19, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $614.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $573.65.

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

McKesson Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. The trade was a 40.12 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 69,625 shares in the company, valued at $41,820,952.50. The trade was a 11.40 % 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. Company insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 4,943,520 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,444,175,000 after acquiring an additional 138,685 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in McKesson by 17.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,968,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,467,557,000 after buying an additional 438,423 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in McKesson by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,847,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,622,754,000 after buying an additional 222,496 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in McKesson by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,663,303 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,513,195,000 after buying an additional 10,015 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in McKesson by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,620,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,493,704,000 after buying an additional 114,396 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

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.