Alethea Capital Management LLC Takes $347,000 Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Alethea Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 4,220 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $347,000. McCormick & Company, Incorporated makes up approximately 0.3% of Alethea Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 26th biggest holding.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% during the 2nd quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,182,302.78. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $78.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50-day moving average of $79.01 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.33. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $63.67 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.30%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

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.