DAVENPORT & Co LLC Raises Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 16.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,870 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 12,356 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $6,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth $20,227,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% during the 3rd quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,552,000 after buying an additional 58,511 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,500,000 after buying an additional 24,881 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,194,444. The trade was a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 22.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MKC. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 1.0 %

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $78.03 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.63, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $64.33 and a 52-week high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.43%.

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.