McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC Shares Sold by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co trimmed its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 64.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 41,000 shares of the company’s stock after selling 74,000 shares during the quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,793,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after purchasing an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after buying an additional 941 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after buying an additional 6,189 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter valued at about $6,520,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after buying an additional 2,176 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gavin Hattersley acquired 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.98 per share, with a total value of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 2,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,959.88. This represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the subject of several analyst reports. UBS Group reduced 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $81.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, HSBC cut their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $47.46 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $12.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.78, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.68. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $60.54. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $44.82 and a twelve month high of $78.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 23.12% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.