Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Cuts Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,458 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,525 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $943,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MKC. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.0% in the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 419 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% in the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 410,913 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,562,000 after buying an additional 4,397 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 32.3% in the first quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 18,922 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,448,000 after buying an additional 4,619 shares during the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1,426.3% during the first quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 3,419 shares of the company’s stock worth $263,000 after buying an additional 3,195 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the first quarter valued at $16,386,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total value of $392,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,174,226. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $77.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $20.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.77. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $79.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.28. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.67 and a 1 year high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.31%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.57.

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.