Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership Has $2.83 Million Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership reduced its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 65.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,091 shares of the company’s stock after selling 69,208 shares during the quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,828,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of MKC. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $223,202,000. Amundi raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,372,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,275,000 after acquiring an additional 374,559 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 9,283.1% during the 4th quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 367,253 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,999,000 after purchasing an additional 363,339 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 321.2% during the fourth quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 449,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,298,000 after purchasing an additional 343,070 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,419,653,000 after purchasing an additional 303,973 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MKC shares. Barclays cut 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 report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $76.18 on Thursday. 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 has a 52-week low of $66.88 and a 52-week high of $86.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.60 and a 200-day moving average of $78.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the 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 approximately $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.