Motley Fool Asset Management LLC Has $298,000 Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lessened its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 9.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,358 shares of the company’s stock after selling 455 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at $47,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 781 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 283.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total transaction of $128,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at $2,554,601.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total transaction of $128,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,726 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,728 over the last ninety days. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MKC shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $75.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $59.13 and a 12-month high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.12%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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.