Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 4,377 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 123,812 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,377 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $9,439,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,653,000 after acquiring an additional 303,973 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,260,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% in the third 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. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% during the third 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 last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $80.35 on Tuesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $78.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.87.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. On average, analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.