McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC Shares Bought by Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,350 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 11,199 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $4,860,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,225,828,000 after buying an additional 314,252 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,522,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,632,000 after buying an additional 747,844 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,232,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,006,000 after buying an additional 2,494,544 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,183,000 after buying an additional 1,124,003 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.1% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,389,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,886,000 after buying an additional 277,257 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,906 shares in the company, valued at $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the subject of several research reports. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “neutral” rating for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 2.7%

MKC opened at $45.56 on Thursday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $44.82 and a fifty-two week high of $78.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a fifty day moving average of $53.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.47, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.68.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 23.12% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.48%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.