ProShare Advisors LLC Sells 28,768 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

ProShare Advisors LLC reduced its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,360,803 shares of the company’s stock after selling 28,768 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $160,794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 21,563 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Ransom Advisory Ltd now owns 4,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $315,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 6,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $418,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 15,653 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,066,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Zacks Research upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. HSBC decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $46.72 on Tuesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $44.82 and a twelve month high of $78.16. The firm has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.66, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.37 and a 200 day moving average of $61.59. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.