Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires 25,278 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 8.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 308,903 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,278 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.12% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $25,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Friedenthal Financial bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Sanctuary Wealth Management L.L.C. acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $78.03 on Wednesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $85.49. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $78.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.19. The firm has a market cap of $20.94 billion, a PE ratio of 26.54, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.75.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

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

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.