McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. trimmed its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 9,950 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,088 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $819,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.4% during the 3rd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 11,019 shares of the company’s stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% during 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 worth $247,158,000 after purchasing an additional 177,567 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 187.9% during the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 296,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $24,395,000 after purchasing an additional 193,453 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter worth $348,000. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 77,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,380,000 after buying an additional 5,467 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on MKC shares. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.57.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850 in the last 90 days. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of MKC opened at $78.35 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $63.67 and a twelve month high of $85.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $79.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.32.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.22%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.