McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Lowered to Hold Rating by Argus

Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Thursday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on MKC. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $81.47 on Thursday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $66.88 and a 1 year high of $86.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.83.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares in the company, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 151,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,552,000 after buying an additional 11,795 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 454,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,628,000 after acquiring an additional 10,482 shares during the period. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 10,469 shares of the company’s stock valued at $798,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV now owns 3,263 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth about $18,162,000. Hedge funds and other 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.