Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Grows Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 1.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 119,723 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,927 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $9,128,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MKC opened at $81.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $66.88 and a 1 year high of $86.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.83.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.