McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Given New $69.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) had its target price upped by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $66.00 to $69.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential downside of 8.17% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on MKC. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen upgraded 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $75.14. 738,376 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,012,780. The company has a market cap of $20.16 billion, a PE ratio of 25.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $64.33 and a twelve month high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.96.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $79.00, for a total transaction of $395,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,194,444. This trade represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 over the last 90 days. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 98.0% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 46,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,302,000 after acquiring an additional 23,033 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 24,723 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after purchasing an additional 7,730 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 159,586 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,321,000 after purchasing an additional 3,992 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 11.2% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 13,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.7% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 9,719 shares of the company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 4,058 shares during the period. 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.