Kensington Investment Counsel LLC Purchases 1,198 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Kensington Investment Counsel LLC grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 76,105 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,198 shares during the quarter. McCormick & Company, Incorporated makes up about 2.6% of Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $6,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. 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. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 97,525.5% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 976,255 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,256,000 after purchasing an additional 975,255 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter worth $51,286,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2,778.8% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 456,920 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,606,000 after purchasing an additional 441,048 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 111.2% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 733,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,041,000 after buying an additional 386,320 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

MKC opened at $77.50 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $78.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is presently 61.22%.

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.