USS Investment Management Ltd Has $7.39 Million Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

USS Investment Management Ltd lessened its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 15.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,929 shares of the company's stock after selling 17,986 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $7,392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 146.9% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 48,298 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,682,000 after purchasing an additional 28,736 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 9,772 shares of the company's stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 1,569 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,642 shares of the company's stock valued at $430,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares in the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.7% during the 4th quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,190 shares of the company's stock valued at $472,000 after purchasing an additional 1,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 6,136 shares of the company's stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MKC shares. Barclays dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.3%

MKC stock traded down $0.18 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.13. The stock had a trading volume of 3,700,794 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,033,496. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.30. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $19.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $66.88 and a twelve month high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.86%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. The trade was a 16.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total transaction of $583,695.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,392 shares of company stock valued at $4,898,101 in the last 90 days. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.