HighTower Advisors LLC Has $4.28 Million Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

HighTower Advisors LLC decreased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 25.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 62,856 shares of the company’s stock after selling 21,205 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $4,281,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MKC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 34,678 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,854,000 after acquiring an additional 925 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 19.0% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $486,000 after purchasing an additional 941 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.9% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 21,334 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,756,000 after purchasing an additional 6,189 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at approximately $6,520,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.1% during the second quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 37,888 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,873,000 after purchasing an additional 2,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gavin Hattersley purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 2,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $153,959.88. The trade was a 220.75% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 10.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $81.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. They set a “neutral” rating on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, HSBC lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $46.78 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $60.63. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $44.82 and a fifty-two week high of $78.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 31.48%.

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.