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

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nine research firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.57.

A number of analysts recently commented on MKC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC stock opened at $77.58 on Wednesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $63.67 and a 12-month high of $85.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The company has a market cap of $20.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.39, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.77.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% 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.