Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Boosts Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 601,322 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,766 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $45,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $276,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 8,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $641,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 43,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,278,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock valued at $954,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 1.8 %

MKC stock opened at $76.05 on Wednesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $66.88 and a one year high of $86.24. The firm has a market cap of $20.40 billion, a PE ratio of 25.96, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $79.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. This trade represents a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares in the company, valued at $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 over the last three months. Insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

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.