McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Hits New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $654.25 and last traded at $660.02, with a volume of 184888 shares. The stock had previously closed at $644.22.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of McKesson from $680.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $645.79.

McKesson Trading Up 1.7 %

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $600.67 and a 200 day moving average of $567.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $82.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.98, a PEG 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 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%. Equities research analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.43%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.00%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 579 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $572.79, for a total value of $331,645.41. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 864 shares in the company, valued at $494,890.56. This trade represents a 40.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were 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 represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,689 shares of company stock valued at $11,187,351 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McKesson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McKesson by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 20,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,542,000 after acquiring an additional 1,207 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank boosted its stake in McKesson by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 156,781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,516,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares during the period. West Oak Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 867.7% in the fourth quarter. West Oak Capital LLC now owns 3,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,710,000 after acquiring an additional 2,690 shares during the period. Brentview Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth $3,018,000. Finally, Ingalls & Snyder LLC lifted its stake in shares of McKesson by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Ingalls & Snyder LLC now owns 13,824 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,878,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.