Wendell David Associates Inc. Sells 1,430 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Wendell David Associates Inc. lowered its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,825 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,430 shares during the period. McCormick & Company, accounts for about 2.3% of Wendell David Associates Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Wendell David Associates Inc. owned about 0.11% of McCormick & Company, worth $12,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in McCormick & Company, by 3.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,962,754 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,166,965,000 after buying an additional 420,241 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, by 956.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,405,413 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,015,049,000 after buying an additional 9,420,526 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, by 5.4% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 7,256,472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $707,872,000 after buying an additional 368,990 shares during the last quarter. Parnassus Investments CA boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, by 14.7% in the first quarter. Parnassus Investments CA now owns 2,426,180 shares of the company’s stock valued at $230,627,000 after buying an additional 310,021 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, by 6.6% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,207,462 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,631,000 after buying an additional 74,953 shares during the last quarter. 73.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE MKC) traded down 0.70% during midday trading on Friday, reaching $94.51. 470,827 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $88.64 and a 12-month high of $106.50. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $97.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $99.00. The company has a market cap of $11.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.10 and a beta of 0.52.

McCormick & Company, (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 29th. The company reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.10 billion. McCormick & Company, had a return on equity of 28.28% and a net margin of 10.69%. The business’s revenue was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.75 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post $4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 10th were paid a dividend of $0.47 per share. This represents a $1.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 6th. McCormick & Company,’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.87%.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MKC. Jefferies Group LLC upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $95.00 to $110.00 in a research note on Friday, July 28th. Edward Jones upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 4th. Credit Suisse Group set a $108.00 price target on shares of McCormick & Company, and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 1st. BidaskClub downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, June 30th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 28th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. The stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.00.

About McCormick & Company,

McCormick & Company, Incorporated is engaged in manufacturing, marketing and distributing spices, seasoning mixes, condiments and other flavorful products to the food industry, including retailers, food manufacturers and foodservice businesses. The Company’s segments include consumer and industrial. The Company is involved in the manufacturing and sales of flavorful products.