Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 2,260 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 285,504 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,260 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $19,534,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Bryn Mawr Capital Management LLC now owns 6,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $450,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the period. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,227,000. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1,342.9% in the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 198,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,573,000 after acquiring an additional 184,625 shares during the period. Bank of New Hampshire grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 35.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New Hampshire now owns 2,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $185,000 after acquiring an additional 700 shares during the period. Finally, Bailard Inc. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 3,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $239,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,738. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,738. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,726 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,728. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 26th. 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 note on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective 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. Finally, Argus raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

NYSE:MKC traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $75.73. 1,248,027 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,053,336. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.13 and a 1 year high of $94.39. The company has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.83.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.12%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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.