Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases 44,000 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 163.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 71,000 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,000 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $5,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew 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 valued at $16,383,000 after buying an additional 74,529 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 602,986 shares of the company’s stock valued at $45,972,000 after acquiring an additional 11,563 shares in the last quarter. Dempze Nancy E boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 26,337 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 5,833 shares during the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth $7,418,000. Finally, Notis McConarty Edward increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 26.5% in the 4th quarter. Notis McConarty Edward now owns 31,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,371,000 after purchasing an additional 6,514 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 5.5 %

NYSE:MKC opened at $76.36 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $66.88 and a one year high of $86.24. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.06, 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 (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,497.72. The trade was a 54.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 247,437 shares of the company’s stock, 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 sold a total of 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 over the last three months. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MKC shares. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Argus cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.14.

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.