Sterling Capital Management LLC Has $1.14 Million Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 55.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,931 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,326 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,138,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $75.23 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. 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 (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.86%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MKC shares. Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,497.72. The trade was a 54.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,842 shares of company stock valued at $6,478,332 in the last ninety days. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.