Putnam Investments LLC Trims Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Putnam Investments LLC reduced its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 92.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 90,123 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,147,502 shares during the quarter. Putnam Investments LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $7,499,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 92,736.4% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,770,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,334,000 after acquiring an additional 5,764,492 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth approximately $148,700,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,955,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,889,787,000 after acquiring an additional 462,997 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter worth approximately $27,153,000. Finally, Mawer Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% during the first quarter. Mawer Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,031,834 shares of the company’s stock worth $85,859,000 after acquiring an additional 377,226 shares during the period. 78.15% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $79.79 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 0.59. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $70.60 and a twelve month high of $94.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. The company has a 50 day moving average of $84.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $84.65.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.74% and a return on equity of 14.76%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.39 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 7th. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 60.23%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.88, for a total transaction of $449,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 25,612 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,006.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Jeffery D. Schwartz sold 3,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.48, for a total transaction of $314,928.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 57,174 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,001,581.52. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.88, for a total transaction of $449,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 25,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,006.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,200 shares of company stock worth $1,416,530. Company insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “underperform” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 6th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “market perform” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $77.00 to $85.00 in a research note on Sunday, July 2nd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, TheStreet upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, June 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.73.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.