McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, four have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $83.75.

MKC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of 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 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 research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:MKC opened at $81.81 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $76.49 and its 200 day moving average is $78.53. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $66.88 and a 12 month high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. Sell-side analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Curio Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Albion Financial Group UT bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth $33,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by 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.