McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,681,608 shares of the company’s stock after selling 429,074 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $128,206,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 17.6% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,641,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,412,000 after buying an additional 396,214 shares during the last quarter. Certior Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 77,218 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,887,000 after acquiring an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 163.0% during the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 71,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,413,000 after purchasing an additional 44,000 shares during the period. Finally, Hemenway Trust Co LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 53.1% during the fourth quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 214,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,383,000 after purchasing an additional 74,529 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MKC opened at $75.53 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.88 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. The trade was a 16.81 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 in the last quarter. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.