Centiva Capital LP Buys New Shares in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Centiva Capital LP purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 6,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $559,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 23.8% during the third quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 5,192 shares of the company's stock worth $427,000 after acquiring an additional 998 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2,778.8% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 456,920 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,606,000 after purchasing an additional 441,048 shares in the last quarter. Paloma Partners Management Co acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $418,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,994,000. Finally, Alethea Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at approximately $347,000. 79.74% of the stock is 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 that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last three months. 22.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.8 %

MKC traded down $0.64 on Friday, reaching $77.50. 1,557,498 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,628,502. The company has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $78.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.48. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.22%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

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.