Liontrust Investment Partners LLP Cuts Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Liontrust Investment Partners LLP trimmed its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 35.7% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 36,023 shares of the company’s stock after selling 19,985 shares during the quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,731,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MKC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at about $249,087,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1,360.5% in the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,575,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467,254 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 44.9% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,737,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $283,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158,423 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,135,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,406,000 after acquiring an additional 920,618 shares during the period. Finally, Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 94.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 1,779,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $134,795,000 after purchasing an additional 865,500 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on MKC shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $79.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.56.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 1.2%

MKC opened at $66.75 on Monday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $62.64 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.62.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 14.30%. The business had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.050 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.9%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 62.28%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, CEO Brendan M. Foley sold 57,144 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $3,746,360.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,123,225.12. This trade represents a 34.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 39,014 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.54, for a total transaction of $2,517,963.56. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 146,158 shares of company stock worth $9,557,324. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.