Graham Capital Management L.P. Reduces Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Graham Capital Management L.P. lowered its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 41.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 6,294 shares of the company's stock after selling 4,526 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.'s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $480,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,202,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 915,807 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,693,239 shares of the company's stock valued at $281,573,000 after purchasing an additional 531,060 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 88.2% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 879,260 shares of the company's stock valued at $67,035,000 after purchasing an additional 412,074 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 17.6% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have issued reports on MKC shares. Argus downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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. lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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 dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total transaction of $583,695.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. This trade represents a 16.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 60,392 shares of company stock valued at $4,898,101. Insiders own 23.80% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE:MKC traded down $1.10 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $74.30. 1,838,413 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,006,927. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $77.24 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $77.48. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $66.88 and a 52 week high of $86.24. The firm has a market cap of $19.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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.