Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 21,250 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT lessened its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 5.8% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 347,552 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,250 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $24,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 278,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,165,000 after purchasing an additional 7,898 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 374.3% during the fourth quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 116,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,948,000 after purchasing an additional 91,676 shares during the period. Ossiam lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 89.5% during the fourth quarter. Ossiam now owns 41,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 19,807 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 470.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 31,306 shares during the period. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $430,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $84.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $74.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a PE ratio of 30.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.76. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.13 and a 1 year high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 61.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 199,258 shares in the company, valued at $14,944,350. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MKC. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.38.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

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.