McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stake Boosted by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 9.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 720,578 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 63,638 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.27% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $54,937,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Albion Financial Group UT acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth $49,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $78.43 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.29. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.33 and a 52 week high of $85.49. The stock has a market cap of $21.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.77, a PEG ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. On average, research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.