Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. Lowers Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. lowered its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 810,032 shares of the company’s stock after selling 26,884 shares during the quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $61,757,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MKC. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $74.30 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $77.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.45. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.36, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $66.88 and a 52-week high of $86.24. 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 (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. This trade represents a 16.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,392 shares of company stock worth $4,898,101 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

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.