Night Squared LP Buys Shares of 117,999 McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Night Squared LP bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 117,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,037,000. McCormick & Company, Incorporated makes up approximately 2.3% of Night Squared LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MKC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,678 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 19.0% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after acquiring an additional 6,189 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $6,520,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.1% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. HSBC dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Zacks Research raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.90.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $47.15 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $12.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.73, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.36. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $44.82 and a 12 month high of $78.16.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gavin Hattersley acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,906 shares in the company, valued at $153,959.88. This represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.