Plato Investment Management Ltd Sells 3,374 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Plato Investment Management Ltd decreased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 15.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,658 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,374 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,534,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 278,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,165,000 after acquiring an additional 7,898 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at $20,227,000. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 470.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 31,306 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 155,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,951,000 after buying an additional 16,420 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 632,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,882,000 after buying an additional 6,588 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $74.92 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.48, a PEG ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $80.64 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.24. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.67 and a 52-week high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.24%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MKC. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.