Dempze Nancy E Sells 26,775 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Key Points

• Dempze Nancy E cut its stake in McCormick & Company by 72.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 26,775 shares and ending with 9,945 shares worth about $677,000.
• Insider buying was also reported, with Director Gavin Hattersley purchasing 2,000 shares at $52.98 each, a move that lifted his ownership by more than 220%.
• McCormick shares were down 1.5% and the company had recently beat quarterly expectations, posting $0.66 EPS on $1.87 billion in revenue while also paying a $0.48 quarterly dividend, or $1.92 annualized.

Dempze Nancy E lowered its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 72.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,945 shares of the company's stock after selling 26,775 shares during the quarter. Dempze Nancy E's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $677,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,659,766 shares of the company's stock worth $113,047,000 after purchasing an additional 628,390 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 746,607 shares of the company's stock worth $50,851,000 after purchasing an additional 69,034 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 76.9% during the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 37,500 shares of the company's stock worth $2,509,000 after purchasing an additional 16,300 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company's stock worth $2,225,828,000 after purchasing an additional 314,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth about $48,576,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Gavin Hattersley purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average price of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,906 shares in the company, valued at $153,959.88. This represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 1.5%

MKC opened at $47.15 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.67 billion, a PE ratio of 7.73, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.65. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $44.82 and a 1-year high of $78.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $49.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.94.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 23.12% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.48%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MKC shares. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research report on Friday. BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.90.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated NYSE: MKC is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick's product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.

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