Meridian Wealth Management LLC Buys Shares of 6,489 McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 6,489 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $534,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.1% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 6,277 shares of the company’s stock valued at $517,000 after buying an additional 472 shares in the last quarter. 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 purchasing an additional 30,696 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% during the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 33.7% during the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 78,171 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,433,000 after purchasing an additional 19,692 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.1% during the third quarter. EagleClaw Capital Managment LLC now owns 35,475 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,920,000 after purchasing an additional 1,050 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MKC opened at $77.58 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.77. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $63.67 and a one year high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.26.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen boosted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.57.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.