D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Purchases 412,074 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 88.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 879,260 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 412,074 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned about 0.33% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $67,035,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Curio Wealth LLC acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MKC shares. Barclays lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Argus lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.6%

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded up $0.47 during trading on Monday, hitting $76.54. 2,349,175 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,975,641. The business's 50 day moving average is $77.90 and its 200 day moving average is $77.57. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $66.88 and a 52 week high of $86.24. The company has a market capitalization of $20.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.12, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. 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 (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.35%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares of the company's stock, valued at $184,497.72. This trade represents a 54.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 in the last quarter. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.