Nuance Investments LLC Trims Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Key Points

• Nuance Investments LLC cut its stake in McCormick & Company by 69.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 160,399 shares and leaving it with 69,587 shares worth about $4.74 million.
• McCormick posted better-than-expected quarterly results, with EPS of $0.66 versus $0.61 expected and revenue of $1.87 billion versus $1.79 billion estimated. Revenue rose 16.7% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock has a consensus Hold rating and average price target of $63.36, while several firms recently trimmed targets; shares were last trading at $47.31.

Nuance Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 69.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 69,587 shares of the company's stock after selling 160,399 shares during the quarter. Nuance Investments LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $4,740,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,225,828,000 after acquiring an additional 314,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% during the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,508,928 shares of the company's stock worth $441,571,000 after purchasing an additional 59,587 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 2,494,544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,183,000 after buying an additional 1,124,003 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on MKC. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Monday, April 27th. Barclays decreased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Zacks Research raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. UBS Group decreased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $53.00 to $51.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.36.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $47.31 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $49.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.76. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $44.82 and a fifty-two week high of $78.16.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.48%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Gavin Hattersley acquired 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.98 per share, with a total value of $105,960.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 2,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 10.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.