Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Has $44.69 Million Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 653,102 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,073 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned about 0.24% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $44,685,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,040,000. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 55.7% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,432 shares of the company’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,586 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,353,000. Costello Asset Management INC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 410.7% during the 4th quarter. Costello Asset Management INC now owns 1,430 shares of the company’s stock worth $98,000 after acquiring an additional 1,150 shares during the period. Finally, Cardinal Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Capital Management now owns 81,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,585,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $73.92 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $70.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.51. The company has a market capitalization of $19.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.21, a PEG ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $59.13 and a 52-week high of $94.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.68.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Consumer Edge downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Argus raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.88.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $326,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 39,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,554,601.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,000 shares of company stock worth $2,376,400 over the last three months. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.