New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 261,970 shares of the company’s stock after selling 22,216 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $17,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. North Star Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $317,000. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 29.2% in the fourth quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 25.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 156,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,741,000 after acquiring an additional 31,691 shares during the last quarter. abrdn plc lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 19.1% in the fourth quarter. abrdn plc now owns 443,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,333,000 after acquiring an additional 71,133 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $649,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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 report on Friday, January 26th. Consumer Edge downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,738. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,738. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at $2,554,601.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,726 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,728. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $75.73 on Monday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $67.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $59.13 and a 12 month high of $94.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.12%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.