Geode Capital Management LLC Acquires 137,679 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,024,666 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 137,679 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.25% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $458,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,419,653,000 after purchasing an additional 303,973 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,499,000 after buying an additional 1,114,706 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth about $223,202,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,509,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,081,000 after acquiring an additional 46,411 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 1,372,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $102,275,000 after acquiring an additional 374,559 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 over the last quarter. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $76.36 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.91 and a 200-day moving average of $78.76. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Argus cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.14.

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.