Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Sells 153 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC decreased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 1.4% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 11,073 shares of the company’s stock after selling 153 shares during the period. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $844,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. RFG Bristol Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at $476,000. Groupama Asset Managment lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 92.4% during the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 32,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,451,000 after buying an additional 15,598 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,114,000 after acquiring an additional 137,679 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 5,040 shares of the company’s stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MKC opened at $82.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $66.88 and a one year high of $86.24. The company has a market cap of $22.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on MKC shares. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.75.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.