Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Reduces Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise reduced its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 29.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 23,679 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,876 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,948,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 97,525.5% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 976,255 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,256,000 after purchasing an additional 975,255 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,286,000. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 111.2% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 733,588 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,041,000 after acquiring an additional 386,320 shares in the last quarter. Covea Finance bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter worth $31,740,000. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3,499.8% during the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 334,777 shares of the company's stock worth $27,552,000 after acquiring an additional 325,477 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MKC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised 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 price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $77.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.67 and a 52-week high of $85.49. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $79.85 and a 200 day moving average of $76.23.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. 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 2.33%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.