McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC Shares Sold by Korea Investment CORP

Key Points

• Korea Investment CORP cut its stake in McCormick by 49.8%, selling 180,936 shares in Q3 and retaining 182,456 shares worth about $12.2 million.
• Analysts are mixed: the consensus rating is Hold with an average price target of $74.10 after several target cuts, though Deutsche Bank upgraded the stock to Buy with a $75 target.
• Insiders have been net sellers (115,000 shares sold in the last 90 days, including Lawrence Kurzius's 50,000-share sale), while MKC trades near its 12-month low (~$59.93) and has a market cap of ~$16.1 billion.

Korea Investment CORP cut its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 49.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 182,456 shares of the company's stock after selling 180,936 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.07% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $12,208,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MKC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at $249,087,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 44.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,737,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,399,000 after buying an additional 1,158,423 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter worth about $48,576,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,427,901 shares of the company's stock worth $2,458,683,000 after acquiring an additional 553,862 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 141.9% in the third quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 677,573 shares of the company's stock worth $45,336,000 after acquiring an additional 397,508 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MKC shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $72.00 to $67.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, December 15th. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $69.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $74.10.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $59.93 on Thursday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $59.62 and a 12 month high of $83.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.28, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $16.09 billion, a PE ratio of 20.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.59. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.64 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.84.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 22nd. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.87 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.54% and a return on equity of 14.27%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.80 earnings per share. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.050-3.130 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.43, for a total value of $3,371,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 246,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,639,161.66. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.92, for a total transaction of $339,600.00. Following the sale, the director owned 43,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,922,529.68. This represents a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,947,300 in the last 90 days. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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