Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company by 2.2%, holding approximately 1.54 million shares valued at $127 million after acquiring 33,600 additional shares in Q1.
• McCormick's stock has experienced recent downgrades from analysts, with Citigroup lowering its price target from $80 to $77 and Stifel Nicolaus from $82 to $76, while the consensus rating remains a "Hold" with a target price of $83.
• The company reported earnings of $0.69 per share for its last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates, and also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.6%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,543,063 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,600 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.58% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $127,010,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 1st quarter valued at $30,000. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 610.9% in the 1st quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 391 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 101.0% during the first quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC now owns 402 shares of the company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $83.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.3%

MKC traded down $0.18 during trading on Friday, reaching $70.01. The company had a trading volume of 623,980 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,284,846. The stock has a market cap of $18.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.31, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.79 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.72. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $68.42 and a 52 week high of $86.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

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

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.