HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Buys 352 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 8.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,405 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 352 shares during the quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $340,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays cut their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of 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 research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $80.69 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $21.64 billion, a PE ratio of 27.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $66.88 and a 52 week high of $86.24. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $79.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.82.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. This trade represents a 16.81 % 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. Also, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.