Symmetry Investments LP Purchases Shares of 7,300 McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Symmetry Investments LP purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 7,300 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $518,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Nuance Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 1st quarter worth about $73,160,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,119,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,261,000 after purchasing an additional 883,327 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 299.9% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 402,223 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,895,000 after purchasing an additional 301,652 shares during the last quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 1st quarter worth about $22,275,000. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1,974.1% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 243,687 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,673,000 after purchasing an additional 231,938 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MKC shares. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.38.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $82.99 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.13 and a 1 year high of $85.49. The company has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average is $78.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $74.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th were given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 61.31%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 199,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,944,350. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.