Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Purchases 141,795 Shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its stake in shares of McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 287.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,097 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 141,795 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.15% of McKesson worth $108,908,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MCK. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new position in McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Synergy Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of McKesson in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, Graney & King LLC bought a new position in McKesson in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Leann B. Smith sold 188 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 12th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,051 shares of the company's stock, valued at $640,679.09. The trade was a 15.17 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 8,961 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $597.99, for a total transaction of $5,358,588.39. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,664 shares in the company, valued at approximately $36,276,465.36. This represents a 12.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,110 shares of company stock worth $10,855,706. Insiders own 0.11% of the company's stock.

McKesson Stock Performance

Shares of MCK stock traded up $6.19 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $694.62. The company had a trading volume of 731,510 shares, compared to its average volume of 892,117. McKesson Co. has a 12 month low of $464.42 and a 12 month high of $728.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $661.28 and its 200 day moving average is $606.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.80, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.49.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $8.03 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.41%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McKesson's payout ratio is 13.00%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on McKesson from $630.00 to $690.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price target on McKesson from $713.00 to $677.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on McKesson from $641.00 to $691.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McKesson from $665.00 to $755.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $668.50.

McKesson 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.