iA Global Asset Management Inc. Grows Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 316.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,329 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 13,164 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,321,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,499,000 after acquiring an additional 1,114,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,886,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,823,000 after acquiring an additional 54,018 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,003,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,158,000 after acquiring an additional 177,567 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,115,000 after acquiring an additional 568,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,509,463 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,081,000 after acquiring an additional 46,411 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $80.01 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $78.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.92. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. The company has a market capitalization of $21.46 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share 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.