MCF Advisors LLC Acquires 471 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

MCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 29.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,086 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 471 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,438,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $260,108,000 after acquiring an additional 93,034 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the third quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,221,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $168,045,000 after purchasing an additional 46,063 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,828,576 shares of the company’s stock valued at $138,313,000 after purchasing an additional 244,211 shares during the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at about $92,340,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.5% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,317,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $99,682,000 after purchasing an additional 19,962 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 1.3 %

MKC stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $74.89. The company had a trading volume of 400,138 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,609. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.63 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.49. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $59.13 and a fifty-two week high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.24%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Consumer Edge lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.88.

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 that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $326,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $326,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,738. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,376,400. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

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.