McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stock Has Average Target Price of $59.80

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is neutral: Eight of 13 analysts rate McCormick a “Hold,” while five recommend buying. The average 12-month price target is $59.80, above the reported share price of $47.90.
• McCormick exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.80 EPS versus the $0.69 consensus and $1.94 billion in revenue, up 16.7% year over year. However, analysts expect current-year EPS of $3.08, and upcoming earnings are projected to decline.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, equivalent to $1.92 annually and an approximately 4% yield. Institutional investors own nearly 80% of the stock, while major shareholder Lawrence Kurzius recently sold about $10.8 million in shares.

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $59.80.

MKC has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, June 26th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $47.90 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.23 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $51.24. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $44.82 and a 1-year high of $72.41. The firm has a market cap of $12.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 21.91%.The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.08 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 26th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, major shareholder Lawrence Kurzius sold 205,538 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.69, for a total value of $10,829,797.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 296,992 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,648,508.48. The trade was a 40.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,302 shares of the company's stock worth $419,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 78.1% during the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 10,729 shares of the company's stock worth $541,000 after acquiring an additional 4,705 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 61,954 shares of the company's stock worth $3,124,000 after acquiring an additional 25,922 shares during the period. National Pension Service purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,726,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 110.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 45,868 shares of the company's stock worth $2,313,000 after purchasing an additional 24,076 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Key Headlines Impacting McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Here are the key news stories impacting McCormick & Company, Incorporated this week:

• Positive Sentiment: McCormick declared a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share, payable October 26 to shareholders of record October 13. The annualized dividend is $1.92, representing an indicated yield of approximately 4%. The payout reinforces MKC’s income appeal. McCormick Declares $0.48 Quarterly Dividend
• Positive Sentiment: Deutsche Bank maintained a Buy rating and still sees substantial potential upside, despite trimming its price target from $60 to $59. The endorsement may support investor confidence, although the target reduction signals somewhat more cautious expectations. Deutsche Bank price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: UBS expects McCormick to retain its existing guidance when it reports fiscal third-quarter results. Keeping guidance unchanged would reduce the risk of a negative outlook revision, but it would not provide the upward catalyst investors may want. McCormick Likely to Keep Guidance
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts expect fiscal third-quarter earnings to decline, and Zacks says McCormick lacks the typical combination of positive earnings and revenue indicators that often precedes a beat. This raises the risk of weaker-than-expected results or cautious commentary in the upcoming report. McCormick Q3 Earnings Preview

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated NYSE: MKC is a global food company that manufactures, markets and distributes spices, herbs, seasonings, condiments, sauces and other flavoring products. Its portfolio serves both retail consumers and foodservice customers, while its flavor solutions business supplies seasoning blends, natural flavors and other ingredients to food manufacturers and restaurant operators.

The company's consumer brands include McCormick, French's, Frank's RedHot, Lawry's, Old Bay and Gourmet Garden, among others.

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