DLK Investment Management LLC Lowers Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

DLK Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 76,203 shares of the company’s stock after selling 562 shares during the period. McCormick & Company, Incorporated makes up 2.4% of DLK Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. DLK Investment Management LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $5,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of 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. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,886,987 shares of the company’s stock valued at $482,823,000 after purchasing an additional 54,018 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,003,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,158,000 after purchasing an additional 177,567 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,115,000 after purchasing an additional 568,276 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,463,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,409,000 after purchasing an additional 30,696 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKC. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Bank of America lifted 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $82.63.

Insider Activity

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.4 %

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $73.35 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $63.88 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $77.91.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 61.22%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.