Freedom Investment Management Inc. Acquires 389 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Freedom Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,116 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 389 shares during the period. Freedom Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $238,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MKC. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 93,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,687,000 after purchasing an additional 8,671 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 76,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,324,000 after acquiring an additional 632 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.9% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,423,000 after purchasing an additional 25,278 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 73.9% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,590 shares of the company’s stock valued at $807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 21,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,497.72. The trade was a 54.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 247,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. This trade represents a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,842 shares of company stock valued at $6,478,332 over the last ninety days. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 1.5 %

MKC opened at $75.78 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.86, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on MKC. Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.14.

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.