Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Raises Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 29.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,647 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 8,766 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,969,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at $20,227,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% during the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,552,000 after purchasing an additional 58,511 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,500,000 after buying an additional 24,881 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 14,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,104,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $78.43 on Monday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $64.33 and a 1-year high of $85.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.35. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.03 billion, a PE ratio of 26.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. This is a positive change 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 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.