McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stock Position Raised by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 27.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 330,642 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 70,508 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned about 0.12% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $27,213,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% in the second 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 last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $81.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 3.2 %

MKC traded up $2.47 on Monday, reaching $79.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,782,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,897,259. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $85.49. The business's 50 day moving average is $78.46 and its 200 day moving average is $76.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. The business's revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

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.