AQR Capital Management LLC Raises Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 31.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 359,016 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 86,101 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.13% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $25,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter worth $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at $35,000. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.3% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at about $67,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MKC. TD Cowen decreased their price objective 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. Bank of America upped their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.14.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,944,350. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $83.24 on Monday. 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’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.76. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $59.13 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 7th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 61.31%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

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.