Norges Bank Purchases Shares of 2,927,628 McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,927,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,202,000. Norges Bank owned 1.09% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKC. NEOS Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.5% in the 4th quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC now owns 11,183 shares of the company’s stock worth $853,000 after purchasing an additional 2,483 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 24.3% during the 4th quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 30,097 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,295,000 after purchasing an additional 5,883 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 470,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,683,000 after buying an additional 15,179 shares in the last quarter. Korea Investment CORP raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 265,677 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,255,000 after purchasing an additional 145,288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Borer Denton & Associates Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. now owns 53,998 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,117,000 after acquiring an additional 569 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.2 %

MKC opened at $81.47 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.88 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $79.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.81.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research 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 will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is presently 61.86%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.