Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated $MKC

Key Points

• Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in McCormick & Company by 5.3%, selling 11,810 shares and owning about 0.08% of the company as of its latest SEC filing.
• Wall Street analysts show mixed sentiments regarding McCormick, with ratings ranging from Strong Buy to Neutral, and an average target price of $84.25.
• McCormick recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.45 per share, representing an annual yield of 2.5% and a payout ratio of 62.50%.

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) by 5.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 213,005 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,810 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc. owned 0.08% of McCormick & Company, Incorporated worth $17,532,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Select Equity Group L.P. acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $104,863,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.6% during the 1st 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 period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 47.5% during 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. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 1st quarter worth approximately $55,643,000. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,056,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $69.00 to $83.00 in a research report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.25.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock traded down $0.79 during trading on Thursday, reaching $69.90. 3,397,627 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,312,308. The company has a market cap of $18.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 0.66. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $68.23 and a 52-week high of $86.24. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $72.02 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.68.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 26th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.43%. The firm's revenue was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.69 earnings per share. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.030-3.080 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

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.