American Century Companies Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,977 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,544 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $3,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,500,000 after acquiring an additional 24,881 shares in the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $4,228,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $234,000. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 136,891 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,547,000 after purchasing an additional 19,491 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DAVENPORT & Co LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.4% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 87,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,699,000 after purchasing an additional 12,356 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Argus cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,842 shares of company stock valued at $6,478,332. Insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC stock opened at $76.36 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $66.88 and a 1 year high of $86.24. The company has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $79.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $78.69.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.36%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.86%.

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.