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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.88.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on MKC shares. Citigroup increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Consumer Edge cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Argus raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:MKC opened at $75.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The company has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 0.73. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $59.13 and a 52-week high of $94.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $68.22.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 64.12%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total transaction of $128,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at $2,554,601.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,726 shares of company stock worth $2,504,728. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at $44,000. Milestone Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 283.9% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 582 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.