Nuance Investments LLC Sells 450,886 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Nuance Investments LLC trimmed its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 42.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 601,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 450,886 shares during the period. McCormick & Company, Incorporated accounts for approximately 1.7% of Nuance Investments LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned approximately 0.22% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $49,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% in the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE MKC opened at $75.31 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average of $79.96 and a 200-day moving average of $76.22. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $63.67 and a 1-year high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares in the company, valued at $3,194,444. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850 in the last ninety days. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on MKC shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised 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 issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.57.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.