McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc trimmed its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,594,687 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127,861 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.59% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $120,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.7% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,427,901 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,458,683,000 after purchasing an additional 553,862 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,375,983 shares of the company’s stock valued at $481,354,000 after buying an additional 133,800 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.6% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,135,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,406,000 after buying an additional 920,618 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,230,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $265,920,000 after buying an additional 184,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,360,020 shares of the company’s stock worth $194,253,000 after acquiring an additional 60,604 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKC has been the subject of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $79.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $102.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $78.22.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 39,014 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.54, for a total transaction of $2,517,963.56. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Brendan M. Foley sold 57,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total transaction of $3,746,360.64. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,123,225.12. This trade represents a 34.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 146,158 shares of company stock valued at $9,557,324 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $66.95 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.17, a P/E/G ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.15 and a 1 year high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.30% and a net margin of 11.46%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.050 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 29th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 66.44%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.