Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $313.42 Million Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA reduced its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,808,198 shares of the company's stock after selling 79,222 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned approximately 1.42% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $313,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HCR Wealth Advisors lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% in the 2nd quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 5,372 shares of the company's stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% during the third quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company's stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.5% during the second quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,434 shares of the company's stock worth $740,000 after buying an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% during the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company's stock worth $695,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE:MKC traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $77.58. The company had a trading volume of 1,335,014 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,905,370. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $79.62 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.25. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $63.67 and a one year high of $85.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is 57.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKC. TD Cowen upped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 over the last three months. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

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.