Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires 72,734 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 45.6% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 232,404 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 72,734 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $19,127,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 97,525.5% during the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 976,255 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,256,000 after acquiring an additional 975,255 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,286,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 111.2% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 733,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,041,000 after purchasing an additional 386,320 shares during the period. Covea Finance acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,740,000. Finally, E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3,499.8% in the 3rd quarter. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB now owns 334,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,552,000 after buying an additional 325,477 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $78.35 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.32. The firm has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.77. 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 12 month low of $63.67 and a 12 month high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last ninety days. 22.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

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.