McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives $83.75 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have issued a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $83.75.

Several research firms recently issued reports on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Argus lowered shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised 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 report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, TD Cowen raised 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 report on Wednesday, January 8th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE MKC opened at $81.64 on Tuesday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $66.88 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $79.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.88. The stock has a market cap of $21.89 billion, a PE ratio of 27.86, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 151,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,552,000 after buying an additional 11,795 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 454,202 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,628,000 after acquiring an additional 10,482 shares during the period. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 10,469 shares of the company’s stock worth $798,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Smith Shellnut Wilson LLC ADV increased 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 valued at $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 during the fourth quarter valued at about $18,162,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.