McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Cut to Hold at Argus

Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

MKC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays cut 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 24th. Finally, TD Cowen raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock 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 stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.26 and its 200-day moving average is $78.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 7th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.86%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total transaction of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 at this hyperlink. Insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at about $223,202,000. Select Equity Group L.P. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $104,863,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,260,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,706 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 47.5% in the 4th quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 2,843,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,771,000 after buying an additional 915,807 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,544,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,115,000 after buying an additional 568,276 shares in the last quarter. 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.