McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC Position Trimmed by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lessened its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,445,575 shares of the company’s stock after selling 16,207 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned approximately 0.91% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $166,568,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.7% during the third quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 21,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd now owns 4,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.8% during the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.0% during the third quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 6,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $418,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.9% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,000 after acquiring an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.98 per share, with a total value of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MKC. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Monday, April 27th. BTIG Research began coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $63.36.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $47.31 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $49.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.85. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $44.82 and a 12-month high of $78.16.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.48%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.