Franklin Resources Inc. Cuts Stock Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Franklin Resources Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,880,041 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,005,881 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 1.45% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $314,477,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. State Street Corp raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,260,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,706 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,886,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $482,823,000 after buying an additional 54,018 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,003,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $247,158,000 after buying an additional 177,567 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company’s stock worth $127,115,000 after buying an additional 568,276 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,463,052 shares of the company’s stock worth $120,409,000 after acquiring an additional 30,696 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen raised their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of MKC opened at $80.56 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $78.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $76.76. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $85.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $21.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.14%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.