New York State Teachers Retirement System Cuts Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

New York State Teachers Retirement System trimmed its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 230,145 shares of the company's stock after selling 15,135 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned 0.09% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $15,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MKC. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.9% during the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,072 shares of the company's stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 696 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.1% during the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,448 shares of the company's stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 108,139 shares of the company's stock worth $10,803,000 after acquiring an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the first quarter worth $543,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the first quarter worth $313,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,738. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $430,738. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,376,400 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MKC. Argus raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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. Barclays raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Citigroup raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE:MKC traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $74.75. 1,235,149 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,135,167. The firm has a market cap of $20.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.53, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.13 and a 52 week high of $94.39. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $69.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.12%.

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.