Barclays PLC Cuts Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Barclays PLC cut its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 26.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 636,653 shares of the company's stock after selling 232,354 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.24% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $48,540,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,497.72. The trade was a 54.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MKC opened at $75.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $79.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.15. The stock has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $66.88 and a twelve month high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is 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.

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