AXQ Capital LP Reduces Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

AXQ Capital LP decreased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 84.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,227 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,105 shares during the period. AXQ Capital LP's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $246,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company's stock worth $1,260,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,706 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company's stock worth $127,115,000 after purchasing an additional 568,276 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2,778.8% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 456,920 shares of the company's stock worth $37,606,000 after buying an additional 441,048 shares in the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,372,446 shares of the company's stock valued at $102,275,000 after buying an additional 374,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 9,283.1% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 367,253 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,999,000 after buying an additional 363,339 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MKC shares. Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.75.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 23.80% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MKC traded up $0.77 during trading on Thursday, reaching $81.64. 1,906,002 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,822,456. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $66.88 and a 12-month high of $86.24. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $78.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74. The firm has a market cap of $21.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.86%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.