Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 34,562 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Financial Counselors Inc. decreased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 22.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 117,221 shares of the company’s stock after selling 34,562 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $8,937,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,277 shares of the company’s stock worth $517,000 after purchasing an additional 472 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 90.5% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,879 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 1,368 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 20.4% during the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 33,120 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,726,000 after buying an additional 5,609 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.0% in the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 366,459 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,504,000 after buying an additional 10,559 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at $1,104,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC stock opened at $80.85 on Thursday. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $78.93 and a 200-day moving average of $78.86. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $66.88 and a one year high of $86.24. The company has a market cap of $21.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

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.