Van Cleef Asset Management Inc Buys 184,625 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Van Cleef Asset Management Inc increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 1,342.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 198,373 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 184,625 shares during the period. McCormick & Company, Incorporated comprises approximately 1.9% of Van Cleef Asset Management Inc’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc owned 0.07% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $13,573,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MKC. Legacy Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 59.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 283.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 582 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,554,601.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,554,601.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $128,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,726 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,728. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on MKC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Citigroup increased their target price on 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 increased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two investment 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.88.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock traded down $0.29 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $75.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,729,728 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,063,404. The company has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.69. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $59.13 and a 1-year high of $94.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 64.12%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company 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.