Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Has $81.02 Million Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA reduced its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,062,688 shares of the company's stock after selling 7,803 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.40% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $81,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MKC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 24,881 shares during the period. DJE Kapital AG bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,228,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at about $234,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 136,891 shares of the company's stock worth $10,547,000 after purchasing an additional 19,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 87,870 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 12,356 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC traded up $0.95 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $82.24. 1,417,028 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,889,821. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $79.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.81. The company has a market cap of $22.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. 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 has a 52 week low of $66.88 and a 52 week high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th 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 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.14.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. The trade was a 16.81 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the 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 sale, 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. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.