McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by Trexquant Investment LP

Trexquant Investment LP cut its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 84.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 34,971 shares of the company's stock after selling 191,208 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,666,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,114,000 after acquiring an additional 137,679 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,000 after purchasing an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 151,523 shares of the company's stock worth $11,552,000 after purchasing an additional 11,795 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Summit Securities Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at about $130,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 trade represents a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 over the last 90 days. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MKC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC stock traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.84. The stock had a trading volume of 1,826,424 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,948,125. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.32. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $66.88 and a 52-week high of $86.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $20.34 billion, a PE ratio of 25.89, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.86%.

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.