GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC Reduces Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Key Points

• GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC cut its stake in McCormick by 30.3%, selling 28,296 shares in Q4 and now holds 64,951 shares valued at about $4.42 million.
• Analysts have trimmed price targets recently and the stock carries a consensus rating of Hold with a consensus target price of $64.27.
• McCormick beat quarterly estimates (EPS $0.66 vs. $0.61; revenue $1.87B vs. $1.79B), reported 16.7% YoY revenue growth, and pays a quarterly dividend with a yield of about 4.0%.

GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC cut its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 30.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,951 shares of the company's stock after selling 28,296 shares during the period. GRIMES & Co WEALTH MANAGEMENT LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $4,424,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,678 shares of the company's stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 19.0% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the company's stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 941 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.9% in the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,334 shares of the company's stock worth $1,756,000 after acquiring an additional 6,189 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter worth about $6,520,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.1% in the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 37,888 shares of the company's stock worth $2,873,000 after acquiring an additional 2,176 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Barclays reduced their price target 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.92, for a total transaction of $339,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 43,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,922,529.68. This trade represents a 10.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,906 shares in the company, valued at $153,959.88. This represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $47.88 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $62.60. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $47.30 and a 1-year high of $78.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $12.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.68.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.48%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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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