Legal & General Group Plc Decreases Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Legal & General Group Plc lessened its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 20.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,681,608 shares of the company's stock after selling 429,074 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned approximately 0.63% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $128,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,419,653,000 after acquiring an additional 303,973 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,114,000 after acquiring an additional 137,679 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,202,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 396,214 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,509,463 shares of the company's stock valued at $115,081,000 after acquiring an additional 46,411 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded down $0.49 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $74.78. The company's stock had a trading volume of 444,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,310,915. 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 $20.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $79.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.23. 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 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 business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is presently 61.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price 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. Barclays reduced 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Argus cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $83.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 23.80% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.