McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stock Position Lifted by Bank of Montreal Can

Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,459 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.14% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $30,504,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MKC. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.8 %

MKC traded up $0.62 during trading on Friday, hitting $78.41. The company had a trading volume of 839,283 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,896,850. The company has a market cap of $21.04 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $63.67 and a 1-year high of $85.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.10 and a 200-day moving average of $76.30.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is 57.14%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.