PFG Investments LLC Cuts Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

PFG Investments LLC decreased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,986 shares of the company’s stock after selling 309 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,143,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at about $20,227,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% in the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,552,000 after acquiring an additional 58,511 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,500,000 after acquiring an additional 24,881 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after acquiring an additional 14,652 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth about $1,104,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on MKC. Barclays dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $76.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $64.33 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. The company has a market capitalization of $20.59 billion, a PE ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 61.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total transaction of $392,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,174,226. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

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.