Kesler Norman & Wride LLC Acquires 547 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 20,727 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 547 shares during the quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $1,592,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MKC. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 14.6% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.1% in the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 138,444 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,450,000 after purchasing an additional 7,952 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 20.8% in the third quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 40,720 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,080,000 after purchasing an additional 6,999 shares in the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.8% in the third quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXQ Capital LP bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth approximately $295,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of MKC traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.87. 1,059,623 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,190,798. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.13 and a 1 year high of $90.45. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $71.88 and its 200-day moving average is $70.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.40%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total value of $5,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 199,258 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,695,277.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total value of $5,900,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,695,277.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $207,386.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 84,458 shares of company stock worth $6,235,714 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays increased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.25.

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.