McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stake Cut by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 2.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 239,578 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,198 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC owned approximately 0.09% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $18,265,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company's stock worth $1,260,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,706 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company's stock worth $127,115,000 after purchasing an additional 568,276 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2,778.8% in 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 during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 111.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 733,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,041,000 after purchasing an additional 386,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Covea Finance purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at $31,740,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MKC shares. BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of MKC traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.90. 2,648,196 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,611,340. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $64.33 and a 12-month high of $85.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. Sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing 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 90 days. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.