West Branch Capital LLC Sells 1,196 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

West Branch Capital LLC cut its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 47.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,330 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,196 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKC. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at $266,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 37.0% during the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,065 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 558 shares during the period. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 22.9% during the first quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 2,413 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.5% during the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,398,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the period. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 202.5% during the first quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 21,147 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,624,000 after purchasing an additional 14,156 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MKC. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.18. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,526,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,927,508. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.80. The firm has a market cap of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of 29.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.77. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.45 and a 52 week high of $85.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.31%.

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.