AMI Asset Management Corp Sells 13,196 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

AMI Asset Management Corp lowered its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 3.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 362,798 shares of the company's stock after selling 13,196 shares during the period. McCormick & Company, Incorporated comprises about 1.7% of AMI Asset Management Corp's investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest holding. AMI Asset Management Corp owned 0.14% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $29,862,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Perigon Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $226,000. S.A. Mason LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the first quarter valued at approximately $68,000. Econ Financial Services Corp acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,258,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the first quarter worth approximately $342,000. Finally, Retirement Guys Formula LLC acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 1st quarter worth $988,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MKC. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Argus lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $84.13.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC traded up $3.99 during trading on Thursday, hitting $77.63. The stock had a trading volume of 4,688,895 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,074. The firm has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.88 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $74.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.67%. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. Analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total value of $583,695.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,392 shares of company stock worth $4,898,101 over the last three months. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.