McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,880,041 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,005,881 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 1.45% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $314,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HCR Wealth Advisors grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% during the second quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 5,372 shares of the company's stock worth $381,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company's stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on MKC shares. Bank of America raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850 over the last three months. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded down $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,467,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,896,260. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $78.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.76. 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 market cap of $21.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.75. 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 announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business 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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is 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.