Fiduciary Trust Co Increases Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Fiduciary Trust Co raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 16.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,592 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,475 shares during the period. Fiduciary Trust Co’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $808,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,423,000 after buying an additional 25,278 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 21,507 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 1,955 shares during the period. Czech National Bank boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 54,680 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,169,000 after buying an additional 3,342 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.6% during the 4th quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 75,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,759,000 after buying an additional 7,217 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $833,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Argus cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $76.10 on Monday. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $78.03 and a 200 day moving average of $77.58. The firm has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $66.88 and a 1 year high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 in the last three months. 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.