New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Invests $2.93 Million in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 38,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,932,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,653,000 after buying an additional 303,973 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,260,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,886,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,823,000 after acquiring an additional 54,018 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,003,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,158,000 after acquiring an additional 177,567 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $81.47 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $66.88 and a twelve month high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MKC. Barclays cut their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.75.

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.