McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by Xponance Inc.

Xponance Inc. lowered its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 34,368 shares of the company’s stock after selling 304 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,620,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 12.1% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 79,890 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,575,000 after buying an additional 8,636 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 526.9% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 83,714 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,890,000 after acquiring an additional 70,361 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.8% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 57,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,731,000 after acquiring an additional 3,163 shares during the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 12,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,021,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 103.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,138 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,822,000 after purchasing an additional 11,240 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MKC shares. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of 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 research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.75.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $80.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $66.88 and a 12-month high of $86.24. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.92. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

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.