Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 4,281 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 80,386 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,281 shares during the quarter. McCormick & Company, Incorporated comprises approximately 2.6% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $6,129,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MKC. State Street Corp raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,260,499,000 after buying an additional 1,114,706 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,115,000 after buying an additional 568,276 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2,778.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 456,920 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,606,000 after buying an additional 441,048 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 1,372,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $102,275,000 after buying an additional 374,559 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 321.2% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 449,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,298,000 after buying an additional 343,070 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 23.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 1.9 %

MKC stock opened at $81.90 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.96 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $66.88 and a 1-year high of $86.24. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $77.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.89.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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.