Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 561,637 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,028 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.21% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $42,819,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 93,400 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,687,000 after acquiring an additional 8,671 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 76,831 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,324,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $25,423,000 after purchasing an additional 25,278 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,590 shares of the company's stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 21,507 shares of the company's stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,842 shares of company stock valued at $6,478,332 in the last ninety days. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.5 %

MKC stock traded down $1.18 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $75.42. The company's stock had a trading volume of 320,354 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,292,210. The company has a market cap of $20.23 billion, a PE ratio of 25.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.88 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm's 50-day moving average is $79.25 and its 200-day moving average is $77.97.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is 61.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MKC. Argus cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price target 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, TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.14.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.