Grimes & Company Inc. Purchases 8,559 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Grimes & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 10.1% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 93,096 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,559 shares during the quarter. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $7,663,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MKC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at about $223,202,000. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth about $104,863,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 47.5% in the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,843,273 shares of the company’s stock valued at $216,771,000 after acquiring an additional 915,807 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,693,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $281,573,000 after purchasing an additional 531,060 shares during the period. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 88.2% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 879,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,035,000 after purchasing an additional 412,074 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total value of $583,695.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the company’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 owns 2,266 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 60,392 shares of company stock worth $4,898,101. Company insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Monday. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 price objective for the company. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.14.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $73.83 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.57 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of 25.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $66.88 and a 1-year high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

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.