Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC Makes New $302,000 Investment in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Blackston Financial Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,408 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $302,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. SVB Wealth LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.0% during the first quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $393,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.3% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 53,866 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,482,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.5% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% during the first quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 6,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $687,000 after buying an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 29.8% during the first quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 811 shares of the company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MKC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup lifted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Consumer Edge downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $76.02 on Thursday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $59.13 and a 12-month high of $94.39. The company has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $67.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.74.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.59 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.82 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 64.12%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.