Empowered Funds LLC Cuts Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Empowered Funds LLC decreased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 85.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,621 shares of the company's stock after selling 27,334 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $380,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at about $20,227,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company's stock worth $11,552,000 after purchasing an additional 58,511 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 470.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,958 shares of the company's stock worth $2,916,000 after buying an additional 31,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 632,674 shares of the company's stock worth $44,882,000 after buying an additional 6,588 shares during the period. 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 the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total value of $386,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,182,302.78. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC stock traded up $0.52 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $77.80. 1,239,370 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,904,701. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.67 and a 1 year high of $85.49. The company has a market cap of $20.88 billion, a PE ratio of 26.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.77. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $79.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $76.28. 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 (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.22%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.