Nuance Investments LLC Sells 450,886 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Nuance Investments LLC trimmed its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 42.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 601,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 450,886 shares during the quarter. McCormick & Company, Incorporated makes up about 1.7% of Nuance Investments LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Nuance Investments LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $49,490,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 489.9% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 16,458 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,264,000 after purchasing an additional 13,668 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 17.2% during the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 266,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,512,000 after acquiring an additional 39,203 shares during the last quarter. Natixis increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Natixis now owns 29,166 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after acquiring an additional 5,618 shares during the period. Evermay Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 34.6% in the first quarter. Evermay Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $118,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 1st quarter worth $4,456,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $75.31 on Wednesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.67 and a 1 year high of $85.49. The company has a market capitalization of $20.21 billion, a PE ratio of 25.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $79.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $76.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.39%. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.