Ethic Inc. Acquires 16,145 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Ethic Inc. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 27.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 74,534 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 16,145 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $5,682,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,202,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,843,273 shares of the company's stock worth $216,771,000 after buying an additional 915,807 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,693,239 shares of the company's stock worth $281,573,000 after buying an additional 531,060 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 879,260 shares of the company's stock worth $67,035,000 after buying an additional 412,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,641,812 shares of the company's stock worth $201,412,000 after buying an additional 396,214 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,266 shares in the company, valued at $184,497.72. This trade represents a 54.82% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 in the last three months. Insiders own 23.80% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE MKC traded up $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $76.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,349,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,975,641. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $77.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.57. The firm has a market cap of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. 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 debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.35%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on 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 for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.14.

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.