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

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.75.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MKC. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.2 %

MKC opened at $81.47 on Tuesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $66.88 and a twelve month high of $86.24. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $79.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.83. The stock has a market cap of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.80, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth about $33,000. Albion Financial Group UT purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.