CWA Asset Management Group LLC Sells 24,238 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 86.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,645 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,238 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 54.2% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,973 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,675,000 after acquiring an additional 7,720 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,593,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 209,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,989,000 after acquiring an additional 41,328 shares during the period. Finally, Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,911 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group began coverage on McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.13.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC stock opened at $72.98 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.34 and a 200 day moving average of $76.82. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $66.88 and a 52 week high of $86.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.08, a PEG ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total value of $583,695.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,242,820.97. The trade was a 16.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,392 shares of company stock worth $4,898,101. 23.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.