Perpetual Ltd Trims Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Perpetual Ltd lessened its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 45.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,192 shares of the company's stock after selling 12,815 shares during the quarter. Perpetual Ltd's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.7% in the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,000 after buying an additional 1,792 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 28,249 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,017,000 after buying an additional 13,132 shares during the last quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Hall Laurie J Trustee now owns 45,725 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,486,000 after buying an additional 14,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $430,000 after buying an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.63.

Insider Activity

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total transaction of $392,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,174,226. The trade was a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850 in the last three months. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC traded up $1.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $74.70. The stock had a trading volume of 3,567,649 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,325. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.75. 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 twelve month low of $64.33 and a twelve month high of $85.49. The company's 50-day moving average price is $76.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.98.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is 61.22%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.