Swedbank AB Trims Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Swedbank AB trimmed its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 210,472 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,011 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB owned approximately 0.08% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $16,046,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MKC. State Street Corp lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,886,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,823,000 after buying an additional 54,018 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,003,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,158,000 after buying an additional 177,567 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,115,000 after buying an additional 568,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,463,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,409,000 after acquiring an additional 30,696 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,194,444. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,173,350. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on MKC. Barclays cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $77.24 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $76.73 and its 200 day moving average is $78.16. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.33 and a 52 week high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. Research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is presently 61.43%.

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.