Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Lowers Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund trimmed its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 80.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,334 shares of the company’s stock after selling 63,413 shares during the period. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth about $227,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $5,298,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.3% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,915 shares of the company’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Creative Planning boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 9.7% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 134,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,525,000 after buying an additional 11,923 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,350. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MKC shares. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Citigroup upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $79.38 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.97, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s fifty day moving average is $80.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.41. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $59.13 and a 52-week high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.31%.

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.