Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 3.8% in the second quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 102,966 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,787 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $7,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 278,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,165,000 after buying an additional 7,898 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 374.3% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 116,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,948,000 after buying an additional 91,676 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 41,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after buying an additional 19,807 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 470.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after buying an additional 31,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $430,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,944,350. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKC has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Citigroup upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.25.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $79.54. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 306,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,914,800. 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 company has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.38 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.56. The company has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.13 and a 52 week high of $83.48.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th were paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.11%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.31%.

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.