Independent Advisor Alliance Sells 5,210 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Independent Advisor Alliance lessened its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 14.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 31,026 shares of the company’s stock after selling 5,210 shares during the period. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,553,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. HCR Wealth Advisors raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% during the second quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 5,372 shares of the company’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% in the third quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the second quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.5% in the second quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 10,434 shares of the company’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Aurora Investment Counsel raised 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. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Bank of America increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $77.23 on Tuesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $63.67 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. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.27. The company has a market capitalization of $20.73 billion, a PE ratio of 26.27, a PEG ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.77.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company 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. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.22%.

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.