Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Sells 310 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. decreased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,957 shares of the company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the period. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth $40,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock worth $1,173,350 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MKC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $77.83 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $64.33 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.47, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.75. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.17.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.31%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.22%.

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.