Flputnam Investment Management Co. Sells 393 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Flputnam Investment Management Co. decreased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,734 shares of the company’s stock after selling 393 shares during the period. Flputnam Investment Management Co.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $392,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.1% during the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 1,415 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 108,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,803,000 after buying an additional 1,048 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 1st quarter valued at $543,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 1st quarter worth $313,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $1,511,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,738. 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 quarter. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 26th. Argus upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Consumer Edge lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $72.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $70.45 and a 200 day moving average of $67.51. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $59.13 and a fifty-two week high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.59 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.