Jacobs & Co. CA Acquires 16,098 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Jacobs & Co. CA boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 12.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 142,949 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 16,098 shares during the period. Jacobs & Co. CA owned about 0.05% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $9,780,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,955,774 shares of the company's stock worth $2,889,787,000 after buying an additional 462,997 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 92,736.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,770,708 shares of the company's stock worth $478,334,000 after acquiring an additional 5,764,492 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.9% during the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,404,603 shares of the company's stock valued at $448,737,000 after acquiring an additional 101,633 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,438,766 shares of the company's stock valued at $260,108,000 after purchasing an additional 93,034 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,563,547 shares of the company's stock worth $223,618,000 after purchasing an additional 152,184 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $76.81. The stock had a trading volume of 2,582,634 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,728. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $67.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.79. The firm has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a PE ratio of 29.32, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.73. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $59.13 and a one year high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.12%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MKC. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Consumer Edge downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $76.25.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.