Sanctuary Advisors LLC Sells 31,007 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC lowered its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 44.3% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,949 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,007 shares during the quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $3,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth about $35,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on MKC. Bank of America lifted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased 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 assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $81.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC traded down $1.14 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $79.17. 1,697,139 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,896,795. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $85.49. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $78.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.93. The firm has a market cap of $21.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.75.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.22%.

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.