NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $3.27 Million Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

NFJ Investment Group LLC lessened its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 82.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,725 shares of the company's stock after selling 186,284 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $3,269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Cetera Investment Advisers raised 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 worth $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 31,306 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.4% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 14,660 shares of the company's stock worth $1,126,000 after buying an additional 343 shares in the last quarter. Cardinal Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.5% during the second quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 90,684 shares of the company's stock worth $6,433,000 after buying an additional 1,315 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.6% during the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,714 shares of the company's stock worth $831,000 after buying an additional 932 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.4% during the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 47,972 shares of the company's stock worth $3,403,000 after buying an additional 3,731 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the firm'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 $3,174,226. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850 over the last three months. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.9 %

MKC stock traded down $0.74 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $77.25. The company's stock had a trading volume of 968,124 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,889,921. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $85.49. The stock has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $78.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.40.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business's quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock 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.