McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC Stake Raised by Hsbc Holdings PLC

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 500,292 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 47,119 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $34,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,659,766 shares of the company’s stock valued at $113,047,000 after buying an additional 628,390 shares during the period. PGGM Investments increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 746,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,851,000 after acquiring an additional 69,034 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 76.9% in the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 37,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,509,000 after acquiring an additional 16,300 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,225,828,000 after acquiring an additional 314,252 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter worth $48,576,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 2,906 shares in the company, valued at $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MKC shares. Zacks Research raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Barclays lowered their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $61.90.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 3.7%

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $47.41 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.77, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.65. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $44.82 and a one year high of $78.16. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $48.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $58.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.48%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.