Royal London Asset Management Ltd. Purchases 10,901 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Royal London Asset Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 431,853 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,901 shares during the quarter. Royal London Asset Management Ltd. owned about 0.16% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $32,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MKC. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,500,000 after purchasing an additional 24,881 shares in the last quarter. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,228,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth about $1,104,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 136,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,547,000 after acquiring an additional 19,491 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $80.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.53, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.