McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by Live Oak Private Wealth LLC

Live Oak Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 64,153 shares of the company’s stock after selling 352 shares during the quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $4,891,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Wallington Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 20,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 19,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.7 %

MKC stock opened at $77.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.33 and a twelve month high of $85.49. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.29. The company has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. On average, equities research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays cut their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

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.