McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stake Decreased by Centre Asset Management LLC

Centre Asset Management LLC lessened its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 8.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 152,382 shares of the company’s stock after selling 13,775 shares during the quarter. McCormick & Company, Incorporated accounts for approximately 2.7% of Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Centre Asset Management LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $11,618,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth $28,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MKC. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE MKC traded up $0.37 on Friday, hitting $76.25. 65,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 556,260. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $85.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $77.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.53.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (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 was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.22%.

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.