Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Sells 8,969 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 2.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 395,016 shares of the company’s stock after selling 8,969 shares during the quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned about 0.15% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $28,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,119,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,261,000 after buying an additional 883,327 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,211,122 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,646,000 after buying an additional 136,080 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,622,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,442,000 after purchasing an additional 60,512 shares in the last quarter. Nuance Investments LLC raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.5% during the second quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,052,220 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,644,000 after purchasing an additional 99,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,004,628 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,737,000 after acquiring an additional 57,839 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $82.99 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.76. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $74.43. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.13 and a 52 week high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 14.63%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. 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 payout ratio is 61.31%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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 research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Bank of America increased their target price 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, TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.14.

Insider Activity 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is 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.