Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. Cuts Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc. lowered its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,540 shares of the company’s stock after selling 173 shares during the quarter. Ramsay Stattman Vela & Price Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $4,692,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,499,000 after buying an additional 1,114,706 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,115,000 after purchasing an additional 568,276 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2,778.8% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 456,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,606,000 after purchasing an additional 441,048 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 321.2% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 449,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,298,000 after acquiring an additional 343,070 shares during the period. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3,499.8% in the third quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 334,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,552,000 after purchasing an additional 325,477 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on MKC. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MKC opened at $77.07 on Tuesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.86 and a twelve month high of $85.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.42.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

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.