Covea Finance Has $24.67 Million Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Covea Finance lessened its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 323,610 shares of the company’s stock after selling 62,050 shares during the period. Covea Finance’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $24,672,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Wallington Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% during the third quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 20,134 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,657,000 after buying an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 19,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,592 shares of the company’s stock valued at $707,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $71.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.47, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $63.88 and a twelve month high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $77.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.90.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKC has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America upped 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. Finally, BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $81.50.

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.