722,946 Shares in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Bought by Marshall Wace LLP

Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) during the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 722,946 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $51,286,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.3% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter worth $67,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $1,875,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,944,350. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $83.38 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $79.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.64. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $59.13 and a 52-week high of $85.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.43, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.76.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.07%. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MKC. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 17th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.14.

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.