Covea Finance Sells 62,050 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Covea Finance lessened its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 323,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,050 shares during the period. Covea Finance owned 0.12% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $24,672,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MKC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total value of $392,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares in the company, valued at $3,174,226. The trade was a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $71.94 on Wednesday. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $77.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.90. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $63.88 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America boosted their target price 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. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted 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, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

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.