Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $276.60 Million Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lowered its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,628,073 shares of the company's stock after selling 180,125 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.35% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $276,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKC. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MKC shares. Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given 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 an average target price of $83.14.

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McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.3 %

MKC stock traded down $0.97 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $72.95. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,454,839 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,919,494. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.62. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.88 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The company has a market capitalization of $19.56 billion, a PE ratio of 24.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. 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 (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The company 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%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,842 shares of company stock valued at $6,478,332 over the last quarter. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.