Mawer Investment Management Ltd. Decreases Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Mawer Investment Management Ltd. lessened its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 1.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 540,367 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,821 shares during the quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $41,198,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,500,000 after purchasing an additional 24,881 shares during the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth $4,228,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 136,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,547,000 after acquiring an additional 19,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 87,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 12,356 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MKC opened at $81.47 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $66.88 and a 52 week high of $86.24. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on MKC shares. Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock 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 price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a 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 stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.75.

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.