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

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK) hit a new 52-week high on Friday . The stock traded as high as $672.00 and last traded at $665.41, with a volume of 16398 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $665.67.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCK has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on McKesson from $612.00 to $642.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on McKesson from $650.00 to $675.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of McKesson from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McKesson presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $649.36.

McKesson Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a market cap of $83.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.52. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $622.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $577.72.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.43%. McKesson’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

Insider Transactions at McKesson

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,051 shares in the company, valued at $640,679.09. This trade represents a 15.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 69,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $41,820,952.50. This represents a 11.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,689 shares of company stock valued at $11,187,351 in the last ninety days. 0.11% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 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.