Norges Bank Takes $223.20 Million Position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,927,628 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $223,202,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Curio Wealth LLC purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Argus lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MKC opened at $81.47 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. The company has a fifty day moving average of $79.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.81.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.86%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.