McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC Position Boosted by Qsemble Capital Management LP

Qsemble Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 88.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,789 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 19,644 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $2,846,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,225,828,000 after purchasing an additional 314,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,522,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,632,000 after acquiring an additional 747,844 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,232,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,494,544 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,003 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.1% during the third quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,389,571 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,886,000 after acquiring an additional 277,257 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,906 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $46.26 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $44.82 and a 52 week high of $78.16. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock has a market cap of $12.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $52.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $61.76.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 23.12% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.2%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 31.48%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the topic of several research reports. HSBC dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Monday, April 27th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. BNP Paribas Exane dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.27.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.