Fifth Third Bancorp Sells 202 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Fifth Third Bancorp trimmed its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 121,101 shares of the company’s stock after selling 202 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $9,233,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Benin Management CORP purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at $267,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 102.8% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 24,129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,840,000 after acquiring an additional 12,229 shares during the period. Apeiron RIA LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Apeiron RIA LLC now owns 4,803 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Wendell David Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc. now owns 165,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,630,000 after acquiring an additional 2,115 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 579,561 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,447,000 after acquiring an additional 16,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $74.90 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.33 and a 52 week high of $85.49. The stock has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. On average, analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.22%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total value of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 40,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,194,444. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.