McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,681,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429,074 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.63% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $128,206,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.5 %

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $75.53 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $79.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.38. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $66.88 and a 1-year high of $86.24. The company has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued 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). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. The trade was a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Argus cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Barclays reduced 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 report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.14.

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.