Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC Purchases New Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 9,473 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $649,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 64.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 108,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,216,000 after purchasing an additional 42,625 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at $5,728,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7,344.4% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 116,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,946,000 after purchasing an additional 114,572 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 142,949 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,780,000 after purchasing an additional 16,098 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 369.2% in the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 695,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,554,000 after acquiring an additional 546,911 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $1,511,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, 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 is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $1,511,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,997.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 32,000 shares of company stock worth $2,376,400 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Consumer Edge downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, 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 report on Thursday, March 28th. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE MKC traded up $1.22 on Friday, reaching $73.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,726,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,191,178. The firm has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a PE ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $70.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.51. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.13 and a 52 week high of $94.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.12%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.