McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Sold by DLK Investment Management LLC

DLK Investment Management LLC reduced its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 76,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 562 shares during the quarter. McCormick & Company, Incorporated makes up about 2.4% of DLK Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. DLK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $5,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 98.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 46,543 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,302,000 after purchasing an additional 23,033 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.8% in the 2nd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 21,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,514,000 after buying an additional 1,350 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.4% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 20,863 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,480,000 after acquiring an additional 2,469 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 578,459 shares of the company’s stock worth $41,036,000 after acquiring an additional 5,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.7% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 54,141 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,841,000 after acquiring an additional 900 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total transaction of $392,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 40,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,174,226. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850 in the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.63.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $73.35 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.91. 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 company has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $63.88 and a 12 month high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.45%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.22%.

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.