Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV Reduces Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV trimmed its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,349 shares of the company’s stock after selling 239 shares during the quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,562,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. KFG Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. PFG Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 6,205 shares of the company’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Palisade Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC now owns 42,172 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,885,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of MKC stock opened at $69.72 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $70.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.71 billion, a PE ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $59.13 and a fifty-two week high of $90.45.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.07%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.41%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays upped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Argus upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $207,386.12. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $207,386.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total value of $5,900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,695,277.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 84,458 shares of company stock worth $6,235,714 over the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.