JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 127,949 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 10.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,134,784 shares of the company’s stock after selling 127,949 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 0.42% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $93,393,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,423,000 after buying an additional 25,278 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.8% during the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 76,831 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,324,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 93,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,687,000 after purchasing an additional 8,671 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 35.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 873 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,000 after purchasing an additional 227 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 137,301 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,300,000 after purchasing an additional 10,605 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on MKC shares. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $81.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $75.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $85.49. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $77.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.53.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.22%.

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.