First Manhattan CO. LLC. Lowers Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. trimmed its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 55,035 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,578 shares during the period. First Manhattan CO. LLC.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $4,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $223,202,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,843,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,771,000 after purchasing an additional 915,807 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,693,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,573,000 after purchasing an additional 531,060 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 879,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,035,000 after purchasing an additional 412,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 17.6% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,641,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,412,000 after purchasing an additional 396,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC opened at $76.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day moving average of $78.03 and a 200 day moving average of $77.60. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

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 $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKC. Barclays reduced their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.14.

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.