McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stake Boosted by FIL Ltd

FIL Ltd raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,170,586 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 101,078 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned 0.44% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $89,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. The trade was a 16.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 over the last quarter. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective 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. 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. Argus downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $76.06. 372,112 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,319,689. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $66.88 and a one year high of $86.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $79.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.25. The company has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.