McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Reaches New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $708.00 to $805.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. McKesson traded as high as $715.21 and last traded at $712.73, with a volume of 965882 shares. The stock had previously closed at $707.28.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on MCK. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on McKesson from $642.00 to $745.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price objective on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cfra Research cut shares of McKesson from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $681.00.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other McKesson news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.59, for a total value 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 $640,679.09. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders sold 18,110 shares of company stock worth $10,855,706. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McKesson

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McKesson in the third quarter worth approximately $2,229,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 817.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 5,622 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,780,000 after purchasing an additional 5,009 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 5.1% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 3,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,678,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in McKesson by 45.3% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $192,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in McKesson by 17.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,801,000 after buying an additional 462 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.07% of the company’s stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $88.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.35, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $669.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $611.97.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly 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%. On average, research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.40%. McKesson’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.00%.

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.