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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho assumed coverage on shares of McKesson in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $630.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of McKesson from $535.00 to $641.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Baird R W raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of McKesson from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $531.00 to $688.00 in a report on Thursday, November 7th. 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $645.79.

McKesson Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $594.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $564.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results 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 net margin of 0.82% and a negative return on equity of 181.26%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McKesson 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at $36,276,465.36. This trade represents a 12.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 19,268 shares of company stock worth $11,536,378. 0.11% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 6.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 156,781 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. West Oak Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 867.7% in the 4th quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,710,000 after purchasing an additional 2,690 shares in the last quarter. Brentview Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,018,000. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 8.2% in the 4th quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,878,000 after purchasing an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.