McKesson (NYSE:MCK) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $737.89 and last traded at $725.79, with a volume of 138503 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $735.33.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MCK. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $755.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $766.00 target price on shares of McKesson and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $708.00 to $805.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of McKesson from $745.00 to $770.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $696.42.

McKesson Trading Down 1.6%

The company has a 50-day moving average of $715.21 and a 200-day moving average of $659.83. The company has a market capitalization of $90.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.48.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $10.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.83 by $0.29. McKesson had a negative return on equity of 201.12% and a net margin of 0.92%. The company had revenue of $90.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $6.18 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 18.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.39%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 2nd. McKesson's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.99%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 1,248 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $717.30, for a total value of $895,190.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 2,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,880,043.30. This represents a 32.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 543 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $726.51, for a total value of $394,494.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 1,972 shares in the company, valued at $1,432,677.72. This represents a 21.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,117 shares of company stock valued at $23,526,451. Insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MCK. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of McKesson by 75,632.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,393,152 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,610,567,000 after purchasing an additional 2,389,992 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth about $1,200,361,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the first quarter worth about $475,235,000. Farallon Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in McKesson during the fourth quarter worth about $348,044,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in McKesson by 4,559.6% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 427,703 shares of the company's stock worth $287,840,000 after acquiring an additional 418,524 shares during the period. 85.07% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McKesson Company Profile

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.