California State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

California State Teachers Retirement System lowered its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC – Get Rating) by 2.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 420,789 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,556 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $29,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKC. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 27.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 3,377,729 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,730,000 after purchasing an additional 737,040 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,756,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $980,404,000 after purchasing an additional 564,889 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 508.2% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 611,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,901,000 after purchasing an additional 510,887 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,955,774 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,889,787,000 after acquiring an additional 462,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet Asset Management SA boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 85.5% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 977,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,700,000 after acquiring an additional 450,767 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.15% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $72.62 on Friday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $70.60 and a 1 year high of $105.19. The firm has a market cap of $19.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.82, a PEG ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.80.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The company reported $0.73 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.13). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 10.74%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.77 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.84 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Friday, March 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com initiated coverage on McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $74.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $63.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.14.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $375,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 38,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,860,275. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 19.00% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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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.