McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Hits New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $641.70 and last traded at $640.82, with a volume of 1087139 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $620.85.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MCK shares. Baird R W upgraded shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Two research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.79.

McKesson Trading Up 3.2 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $80.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The company’s fifty day moving average is $594.13 and its 200-day moving average is $564.17.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last released 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 net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total value of $5,358,588.39. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the 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 owns 1,051 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,679.09. This represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 19,268 shares of company stock worth $11,536,378 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. MidAtlantic Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.