ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Buys Shares of 45,164 McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired a total of 45,164 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated, valued at approximately $3.7 million.
• Various institutional investors have significantly increased their stakes in McCormick, with the company now having 79.74% of its stock owned by hedge funds and institutional investors.
• Recent earnings results showed that McCormick surpassed analysts' expectations with $0.69 earnings per share, while forecasted growth for the current year is projected at 3.07 EPS.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 45,164 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,717,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.4% during the first quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 36,670 shares of the company's stock worth $3,018,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. Sage Capital Advisors llc boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% during the first quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 5,017 shares of the company's stock worth $413,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 43,002 shares of the company's stock worth $3,278,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.8% during the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the company's stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.3% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 11,078 shares of the company's stock worth $912,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MKC shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 5th. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of MKC stock traded up $0.13 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.37. 1,466,125 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,991,606. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $73.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.88. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $69.13 and a 1-year high of $86.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a PE ratio of 24.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.66.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.04. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.43%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total value of $583,695.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.