McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stock Position Decreased by Baird Financial Group Inc.

Baird Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 255,842 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,322 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $19,505,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,419,653,000 after buying an additional 303,973 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,114,000 after buying an additional 137,679 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in 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 buying an additional 531,060 shares in the last quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,530,972 shares of the company's stock worth $269,060,000 after acquiring an additional 326,041 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,215,030 shares of the company's stock worth $245,114,000 after acquiring an additional 190,856 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC traded up $0.02 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $76.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 916,273 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,970,095. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.41 billion, a PE ratio of 25.99, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.58.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Insider Activity

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.