Arete Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 609 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Arete Wealth Advisors LLC lowered its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 12.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,120 shares of the company’s stock after selling 609 shares during the period. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MKC. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,133 shares of the company’s stock valued at $364,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 632,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. KFG Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,434 shares of the company’s stock valued at $740,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $3,688,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $80.56 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $76.73. The stock has a market cap of $21.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.88 and a 1 year high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a $0.45 dividend. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total value of $392,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,174,226. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MKC shares. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $81.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.