Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Has $6.37 Million Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 83,516 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,863 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $6,367,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wallington Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 20,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 19,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $76.85 on Thursday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $64.33 and a 1 year high of $85.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.30. The company has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were 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 2.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MKC shares. TD Cowen upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.75.

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.