ProShare Advisors LLC Grows Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 2,422,227 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,866 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $184,671,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at about $466,000. Somerville Kurt F grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 34.2% in the fourth quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 96,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,325,000 after acquiring an additional 24,467 shares in the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth about $4,228,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 136,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,547,000 after buying an additional 19,491 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now owns 247,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. The trade was a 16.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,497.72. This trade represents a 54.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,392 shares of company stock valued at $4,898,101 in the last ninety days. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $73.65 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $77.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.53. The company has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.14, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.86%.

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.