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

McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $745.00 to $770.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. McKesson traded as high as $731.18 and last traded at $730.39, with a volume of 494940 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $717.76.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Bank of America upped their target price on McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. UBS Group upped their target price on McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 target price on McKesson and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Cfra Research lowered McKesson from a "moderate buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded McKesson from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McKesson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $694.38.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In other news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 543 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.51, for a total transaction of $394,494.93. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 1,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,432,677.72. The trade was a 21.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 341 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.91, for a total value of $244,807.31. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 2,800 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,010,148. This represents a 10.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,117 shares of company stock worth $23,526,451 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of McKesson

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCK. Capital A Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust increased its position in shares of McKesson by 64.3% during the first quarter. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust now owns 46 shares of the company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 18 shares in the last quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of McKesson by 1,366.7% during the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 44 shares of the company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in McKesson during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 85.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McKesson Trading Down 0.1%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $701.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $643.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $91.37 billion, a PE ratio of 33.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $9.83 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $90.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $94 billion. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 181.26% and a net margin of 0.82%. The company's revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $6.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is presently 10.99%.

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.