FIL Ltd Has $89.25 Million Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

FIL Ltd increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 9.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,170,586 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 101,078 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd owned about 0.44% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $89,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,419,653,000 after acquiring an additional 303,973 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,114,000 after acquiring an additional 137,679 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,202,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,641,812 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,412,000 after buying an additional 396,214 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,509,463 shares of the company’s stock valued at $115,081,000 after buying an additional 46,411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MKC shares. Barclays dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC opened at $76.18 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.43. The company has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $66.88 and a 1-year high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Insider Activity

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.