McCormick & Company, Incorporated Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MKC)

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) was the target of unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 5,946 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 178% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,136 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,959.88. The trade was a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 10.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 231.9% during the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 12,664,378 shares of the company’s stock valued at $638,795,000 after purchasing an additional 8,848,235 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,232,337 shares of the company’s stock worth $417,006,000 after purchasing an additional 2,494,544 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $187,183,000 after purchasing an additional 1,124,003 shares during the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4,848.6% during the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,046,630 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,792,000 after buying an additional 1,025,480 shares during the period. Finally, Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $64,522,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. HSBC decreased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. BTIG Research started coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $61.90.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of NYSE MKC traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $48.26. 2,709,689 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,240,527. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $48.68 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.24. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $44.82 and a 12 month high of $78.16. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 6th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.0%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.48%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.