Plato Investment Management Ltd Buys Shares of 13,151 McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Plato Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 13,151 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $659,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,659,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $113,047,000 after purchasing an additional 628,390 shares during the period. PGGM Investments grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 746,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $50,851,000 after buying an additional 69,034 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,225,828,000 after buying an additional 314,252 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 500,292 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,086,000 after acquiring an additional 47,119 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,883,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $60.50.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of MKC stock opened at $55.40 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average is $51.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $54.20. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $44.82 and a twelve month high of $72.58.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.11. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 21.91% and a return on equity of 12.78%. The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.050-3.130 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.95%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 205,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.69, for a total value of $10,829,797.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 296,992 shares in the company, valued at $15,648,508.48. This trade represents a 40.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.