Hantz Financial Services Inc. Makes New Investment in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 938 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,119,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,390,261,000 after buying an additional 883,327 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,359,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,636 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,211,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,646,000 after purchasing an additional 136,080 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,622,602 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,442,000 after purchasing an additional 60,512 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $160,999,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,350. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen decreased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.25.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $80.03 on Tuesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $59.13 and a 52-week high of $83.48. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.03 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.10%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.31%.

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.