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

McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $811.86 and last traded at $811.69, with a volume of 451528 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $801.67.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MCK. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $800.00 to $850.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of McKesson in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $820.00 to $900.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 13th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of McKesson from $800.00 to $825.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of McKesson from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Sunday, September 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $839.15.

McKesson Stock Up 1.2%

The business’s fifty day moving average is $731.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $715.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $100.96 billion, a PE ratio of 32.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.52.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a net margin of 0.84% and a negative return on equity of 196.66%. The business had revenue of $97.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $95.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.88 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.82 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 2nd. This is a positive change from McKesson’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. McKesson’s payout ratio is presently 13.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McKesson

In other McKesson news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total transaction of $218,347.43. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $436,031.19. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 11,930 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $705.63, for a total transaction of $8,418,165.90. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,830,987.56. The trade was a 74.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,189 shares of company stock valued at $16,722,190 over the last ninety days. 0.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Solstein Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of McKesson by 171.4% during the second quarter. Solstein Capital LLC now owns 38 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 24 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of McKesson during the second quarter worth $29,000. GFG Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of McKesson during the second quarter worth $30,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust lifted 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 during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is 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.