Oak Thistle LLC Purchases Shares of 8,571 McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $658,000. McCormick & Company, Incorporated comprises about 0.6% of Oak Thistle LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MKC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth about $160,999,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 41.7% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,359,068 shares of the company’s stock worth $366,667,000 after purchasing an additional 1,577,636 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth about $92,340,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 157.2% during the 4th quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 1,063,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $72,749,000 after purchasing an additional 649,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fenimore Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 369.2% during the 4th quarter. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. now owns 695,031 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,554,000 after purchasing an additional 546,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Argus upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. 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. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $76.25.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $207,386.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $207,386.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total transaction of $5,900,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,695,277.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 84,458 shares of company stock worth $6,235,714 in the last quarter. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:MKC traded down $0.99 on Monday, hitting $69.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,402,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,009,028. 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 stock has a market cap of $18.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.13 and a 1 year high of $90.45. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $70.17.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. The firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.84 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 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.