Portland Global Advisors LLC Raises Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Portland Global Advisors LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 52,139 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the quarter. Portland Global Advisors LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $3,975,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth $575,000. DnB Asset Management AS increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 57,101 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,353,000 after acquiring an additional 5,270 shares during the last quarter. Alerus Financial NA purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,210,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 71,241 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,431,000 after acquiring an additional 767 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth about $2,932,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MKC shares. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:MKC opened at $81.47 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $66.88 and a 52 week high of $86.24. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.26 and a 200 day moving average of $78.83.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

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.