Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 29,870 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group sold 29,870 shares of McCormick, cutting its stake by 4.6% to 620,919 shares (about $42.3 million), or roughly 0.23% ownership.
• McCormick beat quarterly expectations with $0.66 EPS (vs. $0.61 est.) and $1.87B revenue (up 16.7% YoY), and announced a $0.48 quarterly dividend (3.6% yield).
• Analysts have trimmed price targets recently and the consensus rating is Hold with an average target of $64.27.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 620,919 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,870 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.23% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $42,291,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth about $15,388,000. WINTON GROUP Ltd grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 76.9% in the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 37,500 shares of the company's stock worth $2,509,000 after purchasing an additional 16,300 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth about $3,819,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.5% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 878,886 shares of the company's stock worth $58,806,000 after purchasing an additional 29,418 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth about $48,576,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.09, for a total transaction of $335,450.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 31,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,119,775.64. The trade was a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 65,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,575,800 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on MKC. UBS Group cut their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Barclays cut their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $81.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $53.35 on Thursday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $60.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.76. The stock has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.75, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $47.52 and a fifty-two week high of $78.16.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The business's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.48%.

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.

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.