Woodline Partners LP Invests $1.16 Million in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Woodline Partners LP bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 15,145 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,155,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MKC. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 102.8% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,129 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,840,000 after buying an additional 12,229 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 43.8% in the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,001 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,000 after buying an additional 914 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 40,903 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,119,000 after buying an additional 3,051 shares during the last quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Cornell Pochily Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 4,343 shares of the company's stock valued at $331,000 after buying an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Town & Country Bank & Trust CO dba First Bankers Trust CO now owns 21,340 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,627,000 after buying an additional 595 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $184,497.72. The trade was a 54.82% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 60,392 shares of company stock worth $4,898,101. Company insiders own 23.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Argus lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC stock traded up $0.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $72.64. 3,262,713 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,041,684. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $75.52 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $66.88 and a 12-month high of $86.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.48%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.86%.

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.