Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 12,771 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 607,039 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,771 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $40,842,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,225,828,000 after purchasing an additional 314,252 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,522,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,632,000 after purchasing an additional 747,844 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,232,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,494,544 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,003 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,389,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,886,000 after purchasing an additional 277,257 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total transaction of $3,581,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 296,992 shares in the company, valued at $21,273,536.96. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gavin Hattersley purchased 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were bought at an average price of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 2,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on MKC shares. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 30th. UBS Group lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $48.29 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.98 billion, a PE ratio of 7.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $47.30 and a 52 week high of $78.16. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $62.60.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 23.12% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.0%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 31.48%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

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.