abrdn plc Acquires 71,133 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

abrdn plc boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 19.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 443,332 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 71,133 shares during the period. abrdn plc’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $30,333,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. KFG Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the company’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 6,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $478,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS now owns 6,205 shares of the company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atlas Private Wealth Management increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.3% in the third quarter. Atlas Private Wealth Management now owns 15,661 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,185,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,738. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at approximately $430,738. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,376,400. 22.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MKC. Consumer Edge downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Argus upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC opened at $74.69 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $20.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $59.13 and a 12 month high of $94.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $70.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.56.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 64.12%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.