HFR Wealth Management LLC Sells 125,994 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Key Points

• HFR Wealth Management sharply reduced its McCormick stake, selling 125,994 shares in the fourth quarter and cutting its position by 93.4% to 8,915 shares valued at about $607,000.
• McCormick posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results, reporting EPS of $0.66 versus estimates of $0.61 and revenue of $1.87 billion versus $1.79 billion expected, with revenue up 16.7% year over year.
• The company continues to pay a solid dividend and draw mixed analyst views, with a quarterly payout of $0.48 per share, a 4.1% annualized yield, and a consensus Wall Street rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $63.36.

HFR Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 93.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,915 shares of the company's stock after selling 125,994 shares during the quarter. HFR Wealth Management LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $607,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,232,337 shares of the company's stock worth $417,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,494,544 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,003 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $62,711,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,522,816 shares of the company's stock worth $1,038,632,000 after purchasing an additional 747,844 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth $48,576,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,959.88. The trade was a 220.75% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 10.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $47.31 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.65. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $44.82 and a 52-week high of $78.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $49.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.85.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued 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 yield of 4.1%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is presently 31.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BTIG Research assumed coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.36.

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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