McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $77.88.

MKC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst 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 note on Tuesday, April 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced 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. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” 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. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total transaction 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 approximately $430,738. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now owns 5,594 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,738. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total transaction of $128,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 33,726 shares of company stock valued at $2,504,728 in the last three months. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 151.8% during the 3rd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 69,805 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,280,000 after purchasing an additional 42,078 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 32,248 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,439,000 after purchasing an additional 1,066 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Forsta AP Fonden boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 40,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,094,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.8 %

MKC stock opened at $75.55 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $72.73 and a 200 day moving average of $68.64. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.28 billion, a PE ratio of 28.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.13 and a 52 week high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

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

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.