Providence Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Key Points

• Providence Wealth Advisors LLC purchased 4,100 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC), valued at approximately $337,000.
• Institutional investors collectively own 79.74% of McCormick's stock, indicating strong interest from large funds.
• McCormick recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, yielding 2.51% annually, with a payout ratio of 62.50%.

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $337,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,040 shares of the company's stock valued at $382,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% during the first quarter. Sage Capital Advisors llc now owns 5,017 shares of the company's stock worth $413,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 43,002 shares of the company's stock worth $3,278,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.8% during the first quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 7,810 shares of the company's stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.3% during the first quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 11,078 shares of the company's stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MKC shares. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $72.02. 400,053 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,300,167. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $69.98 and a 52 week high of $86.24. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $73.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.02. The firm has a market cap of $19.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.50%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.50%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related 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 value of $583,695.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.