Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 20.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 33,120 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,609 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. HCR Wealth Advisors raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% during the second quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 5,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.5% during the 2nd quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on MKC shares. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.1 %

NYSE:MKC opened at $77.77 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.29. The company has a market cap of $20.87 billion, a PE ratio of 26.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $63.67 and a 12 month high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during 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%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total transaction of $392,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,174,226. The trade was a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.