McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $83.14.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Argus downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $75.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $77.24 and a 200-day moving average of $77.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.88 and a 12 month high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 7th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 7th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.86%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total value of $583,695.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,266 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,497.72. The trade was a 54.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,392 shares of company stock valued at $4,898,101 over the last quarter. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth $223,202,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1,360.5% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 1,575,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $129,647,000 after buying an additional 1,467,254 shares during the last quarter. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth $104,863,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.6% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,135,648 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,406,000 after buying an additional 920,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 47.5% during the fourth 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 last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.