Great Diamond Partners LLC Trims Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Great Diamond Partners LLC lessened its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 5.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 2,795 shares of the company’s stock after selling 168 shares during the quarter. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter worth about $20,227,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% during the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,552,000 after buying an additional 58,511 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,500,000 after acquiring an additional 24,881 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,298,000 after acquiring an additional 14,652 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,104,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target 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. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders sold 15,000 shares of company stock worth $1,173,350. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $77.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $20.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $64.33 and a 12 month high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $76.73 and its 200-day moving average is $78.16.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 61.43%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.