Welch & Forbes LLC Has $1.20 Million Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 43.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,511 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 5,338 shares during the quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,198,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. KFG Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 6,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT now owns 22,996 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,573,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of 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 raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Argus raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MKC traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $76.04. The stock had a trading volume of 308,860 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,323. The firm has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $72.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $68.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $59.13 and a twelve month high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.12%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $1,511,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $1,511,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,997.24. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,726 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,728. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.