Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Has $146.80 Million Stock Position in McKesson Corporation $MCK

Key Points

• Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. increased its stake in McKesson Corporation by 14.1% during Q1, now owning 218,130 shares valued at approximately $146.8 million.
• Insider trading activity revealed that CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 19,371 shares, representing a 41% decrease in his ownership, while total insider sales in the past three months reached $44.1 million.
• McKesson has announced a quarterly dividend increase from $0.71 to $0.82, with an annualized yield of 0.5%, set to be paid on October 1st.

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. raised its position in McKesson Corporation (NYSE:MCK - Free Report) by 14.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 218,130 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 27,033 shares during the period. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned about 0.17% of McKesson worth $146,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 265 shares of the company's stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC boosted its position in McKesson by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 715 shares of the company's stock valued at $481,000 after buying an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of McKesson by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 2,771 shares of the company's stock worth $1,867,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of McKesson by 0.6% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,501 shares of the company's stock worth $1,683,000 after purchasing an additional 16 shares during the period. Finally, Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC increased its holdings in McKesson by 0.4% in the first quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 4,798 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,229,000 after purchasing an additional 17 shares during the last quarter. 85.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McKesson Price Performance

Shares of MCK traded down $4.42 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $687.03. The stock had a trading volume of 472,767 shares, compared to its average volume of 808,316. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $699.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $690.52. McKesson Corporation has a twelve month low of $464.42 and a twelve month high of $737.89. The firm has a market cap of $85.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.51.

McKesson (NYSE:MCK - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $8.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.33 by ($0.07). McKesson had a net margin of 0.84% and a negative return on equity of 196.66%. The firm had revenue of $97.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $95.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $7.88 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 23.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that McKesson Corporation will post 32.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McKesson Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be paid a $0.82 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $3.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from McKesson's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. McKesson's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCK has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their target price on McKesson from $760.00 to $800.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen lowered McKesson from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, July 13th. Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of McKesson in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on McKesson from $766.00 to $772.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $810.00 target price (up previously from $770.00) on shares of McKesson in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $725.10.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Napoleon B. Rutledge, Jr. sold 329 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $663.67, for a total value of $218,347.43. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 657 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $436,031.19. The trade was a 33.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 11,930 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $705.63, for a total value of $8,418,165.90. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 4,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,830,987.56. This represents a 74.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,560 shares of company stock worth $30,438,602 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.08% of the company's stock.

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.