Norway Savings Bank Buys Shares of 3,168 McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Norway Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 3,168 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,962 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 5,322 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 38,436 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,930,000 after purchasing an additional 1,698 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 54.2% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 21,973 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,675,000 after purchasing an additional 7,720 shares during the period. Finally, Alberta Investment Management Corp acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at $1,593,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE MKC opened at $72.98 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.68 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.25. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $74.34 and its 200-day moving average is $76.82. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $66.88 and a one year high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.67%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total value of $4,090,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. This trade represents a 16.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total transaction of $223,905.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares in the company, valued at $184,497.72. This trade represents a 54.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,392 shares of company stock valued at $4,898,101 in the last 90 days. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Monday, June 16th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.13.

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.