Natixis Advisors LLC Purchases 9,834 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Key Points

• Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McCormick & Company by 11.5%, acquiring an additional 9,834 shares, bringing its total to 95,073 shares valued at approximately $7.8 million.
• McCormick's recently reported earnings per share were $0.69, exceeding expectations of $0.65, with quarterly revenue of $1.66 billion, slightly below analyst estimates.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 2.6%, with a payout ratio of 62.5%.

Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 11.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,073 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 9,834 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $7,825,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MKC. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 151,523 shares of the company's stock worth $11,552,000 after purchasing an additional 11,795 shares in the last quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $7,418,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 602,986 shares of the company's stock worth $45,972,000 after purchasing an additional 11,563 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 77,218 shares of the company's stock worth $5,887,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Certior Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $239,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE:MKC opened at $70.19 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market cap of $18.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $73.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.00. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $69.76 and a 1-year high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.43%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is 62.50%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $83.00 target price for the company. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 23.80% of the stock is currently 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.