Fmr LLC Sells 389,038 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

FMR LLC cut its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 58.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 277,175 shares of the company's stock after selling 389,038 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 0.10% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $22,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter valued at about $35,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MKC shares. Bank of America lifted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their target price 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MKC traded up $1.97 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $81.94. 2,936,900 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,901,849. The stock has a market cap of $21.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $63.88 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $78.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm 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 an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.