McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC Stock Holdings Increased by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 1.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 32,679,906 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 314,252 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $2,225,828,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,232,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $417,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,494,544 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,003 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,522,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,632,000 after purchasing an additional 747,844 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,576,000. Finally, Scopus Asset Management L.P. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 191.0% in the 3rd quarter. Scopus Asset Management L.P. now owns 885,250 shares of the company’s stock valued at $59,232,000 after buying an additional 581,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. TD Cowen cut their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $52.98 per share, with a total value of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.09, for a total value of $335,450.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 31,596 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,119,775.64. This represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 65,000 shares of company stock worth $4,575,800 over the last quarter. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $50.48 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $57.00 and its 200-day moving average is $63.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $47.52 and a 12-month high of $78.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.71.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 23.12% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 31.48%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.