McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec decreased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 7.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 85,850 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,800 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $7,065,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth $20,227,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% in the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company's stock worth $11,552,000 after purchasing an additional 58,511 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the company's stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 470.6% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,958 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,916,000 after buying an additional 31,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 632,674 shares of the company's stock worth $44,882,000 after buying an additional 6,588 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $78.00. 1,382,729 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,894,104. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $85.49. The stock's 50 day moving average is $78.80 and its 200 day moving average is $76.40. The company has a market cap of $20.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 business's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders 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 represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on MKC shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.57.

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.