Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC – Get Rating) by 12.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 87,289 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 9,683 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $7,235,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MKC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,812,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,124,707,000 after purchasing an additional 321,099 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,756,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,404,000 after purchasing an additional 564,889 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,377,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,730,000 after purchasing an additional 737,040 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 2,297,939 shares of the company’s stock valued at $163,775,000 after purchasing an additional 248,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,212,155 shares of the company’s stock valued at $183,366,000 after purchasing an additional 299,244 shares during the last quarter. 79.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $88.92 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.00, a PEG ratio of 4.93 and a beta of 0.58. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $70.60 and a 12 month high of $94.52. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $83.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 28th. The company reported $0.59 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.49 by $0.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.42% and a return on equity of 14.34%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.61 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 24th. Investors of record on Monday, April 10th were paid a $0.39 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 6th. This represents a $1.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.16%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MKC. UBS Group began coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Friday, March 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $71.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Thursday, April 13th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.10.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, CEO Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 39,906 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Friday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.02, for a total value of $3,592,338.12. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 159,579 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,365,301.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 19.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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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.