Colonial Trust Co SC Buys 231 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Colonial Trust Co SC increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 69.0% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 566 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 231 shares during the quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $43,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 36,248 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,764,000 after purchasing an additional 2,142 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at $564,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 47.5% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,843,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,771,000 after buying an additional 915,807 shares in the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $1,693,000. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 463,837 shares of the company’s stock valued at $35,364,000 after acquiring an additional 6,917 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MKC opened at $76.10 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $66.88 and a 1 year high of $86.24. 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $78.03 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.60. The firm has a market cap of $20.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on MKC shares. Barclays cut their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.14.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. The trade was a 16.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,842 shares of company stock worth $6,478,332 in the last ninety days. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.