Boston Common Asset Management LLC Sells 6,615 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Boston Common Asset Management LLC decreased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 4.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 154,603 shares of the company's stock after selling 6,615 shares during the period. Boston Common Asset Management LLC owned 0.06% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $12,724,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,119,141 shares of the company's stock worth $2,390,261,000 after purchasing an additional 883,327 shares in the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,211,122 shares of the company's stock worth $246,646,000 after purchasing an additional 136,080 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.4% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,622,602 shares of the company's stock valued at $201,442,000 after buying an additional 60,512 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.5% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,052,220 shares of the company's stock valued at $74,644,000 after buying an additional 99,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 97,525.5% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 976,255 shares of the company's stock worth $69,256,000 after buying an additional 975,255 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,350. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.5 %

MKC stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $80.18. 1,550,375 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,941,787. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $59.13 and a one year high of $85.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a PEG ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $80.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $75.61.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.31%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.