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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $61.90.

MKC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 12th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Gavin Hattersley bought 2,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $52.98 per share, with a total value of $105,960.00. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 2,906 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,959.88. The trade was a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 10.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,225,828,000 after buying an additional 314,252 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,522,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,632,000 after buying an additional 747,844 shares in the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 231.9% during the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 12,664,378 shares of the company’s stock worth $638,795,000 after buying an additional 8,848,235 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,508,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,571,000 after buying an additional 59,587 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,422,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,467,000 after buying an additional 190,607 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.8%

NYSE MKC opened at $45.79 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $48.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.36. The company has a market capitalization of $12.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.51, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.65. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $44.82 and a 1-year high of $78.16.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 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 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th were issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is presently 31.48%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private?label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.