Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS Grows Stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,205 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS’s holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated were worth $425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position 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 worth $2,889,787,000 after acquiring an additional 462,997 shares in the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 92,736.4% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,770,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,334,000 after acquiring an additional 5,764,492 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,404,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,737,000 after acquiring an additional 101,633 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,438,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,108,000 after acquiring an additional 93,034 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.3% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,563,547 shares of the company’s stock worth $223,618,000 after acquiring an additional 152,184 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKC has been the subject of several research reports. Argus upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Consumer Edge lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Friday, January 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $73.92 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $70.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $59.13 and a 12 month high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.59 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 64.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $1,511,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $430,738. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $1,511,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,997.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,376,400 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

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.