Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 17,889 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Prudential Financial Inc. lowered its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 138,488 shares of the company’s stock after selling 17,889 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $10,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,653,000 after purchasing an additional 303,973 shares during the period. Fox Run Management L.L.C. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 175.6% in the fourth quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. now owns 9,512 shares of the company’s stock worth $725,000 after buying an additional 6,060 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $6,778,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 18.1% during the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 161,478 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,311,000 after buying an additional 24,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 46.3% in the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 23,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,822,000 after acquiring an additional 7,560 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MKC opened at $81.47 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $66.88 and a 1 year high of $86.24. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.87.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.75.

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.