Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 697 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 22.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,860 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 697 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $264,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 283.9% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 781 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 72.9% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $128,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $128,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $1,511,400.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 24,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,997.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,726 shares of company stock worth $2,504,728 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Argus raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $75.55 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $20.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $68.64. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $59.13 and a fifty-two week high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 64.12%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.