Welch & Forbes LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Welch & Forbes LLC lowered its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 36.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,157 shares of the company's stock after selling 5,175 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% during the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,552,000 after buying an additional 58,511 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,500,000 after buying an additional 24,881 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652 shares during the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $4,228,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 23.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MKC. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 1.1 %

MKC traded down $0.91 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $83.29. 3,014,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,830,867. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.81. The firm has a market cap of $22.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.43, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $66.88 and a 1 year 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.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. As a group, equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.