Gotham Asset Management LLC Cuts Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Gotham Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 131,783 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,080 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC's holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $10,047,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth $223,202,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,843,273 shares of the company's stock worth $216,771,000 after purchasing an additional 915,807 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,693,239 shares of the company's stock worth $281,573,000 after purchasing an additional 531,060 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 88.2% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 879,260 shares of the company's stock worth $67,035,000 after purchasing an additional 412,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 17.6% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,641,812 shares of the company's stock worth $201,412,000 after purchasing an additional 396,214 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Argus lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.14.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of the firm's 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,497.72. This trade represents a 54.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 88,484 shares of company stock valued at $7,062,028. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:MKC traded down $1.15 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $73.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,895,874 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,988,713. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.88 and a 12 month high of $86.24. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $77.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a PE ratio of 25.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.