McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stock Holdings Lifted by Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.

Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 9.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,343 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on MKC. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:MKC opened at $74.90 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $76.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.33 and a 52 week high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. On average, research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.40%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.