Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. Lowers Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Sumitomo Life Insurance Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,957 shares of the company’s stock after selling 310 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Life Insurance Co.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $683,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,353 shares of the company’s stock worth $947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.7% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,719 shares of the company’s stock valued at $689,000 after buying an additional 4,058 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 151,289 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,732,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 44,530 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,159,000 after buying an additional 1,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the company’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $77.83 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.33 and a 52 week high of $85.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.17. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.22%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock worth $1,173,350 over the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.