First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Lowers Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. decreased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 8,157 shares of the company’s stock after selling 612 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 39,362 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,693,000 after buying an additional 306 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,946 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,502,000 after purchasing an additional 612 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 175,358 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,998,000 after buying an additional 14,155 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LP increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 14,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $997,000 after buying an additional 541 shares during the period. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 98.5% in the fourth quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $494,000 after buying an additional 3,583 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $128,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at $430,738. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $128,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,726 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,728. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Consumer Edge downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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 increased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC stock opened at $75.45 on Monday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $59.13 and a 52-week high of $94.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The stock has a market cap of $20.25 billion, a PE ratio of 28.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $72.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.42.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.12%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.