Cullen Investment Group LTD. Sells 2,890 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. decreased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 3.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,822 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,890 shares during the period. McCormick & Company, Incorporated accounts for about 1.0% of Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $6,326,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,235,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,068,734,000 after acquiring an additional 105,272 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 41.7% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,359,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,636 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,438,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,108,000 after acquiring an additional 93,034 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $160,999,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.4% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,828,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $138,313,000 after purchasing an additional 244,211 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total value of $5,900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,695,277.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $207,386.12. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total value of $5,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,695,277.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 111,458 shares of company stock valued at $8,286,114 over the last ninety days. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $68.63 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $18.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.19, a PEG ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $72.79 and a 200 day moving average of $70.09. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $59.13 and a 12 month high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were given a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.12%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Argus raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.00.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.