Fmr LLC Sells 389,038 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Fmr LLC cut its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 58.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 277,175 shares of the company’s stock after selling 389,038 shares during the quarter. Fmr LLC owned approximately 0.10% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $22,811,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,182,302.78. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 3.2 %

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $79.96 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $85.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.41 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.53. The firm has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.20, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

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.