McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Hold" by Brokerages

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.13.

MKC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group assumed coverage on McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $83.00 price target for the company. Finally, Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $76.58 on Thursday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $69.00 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. The company has a market capitalization of $20.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.59, a PEG ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $76.60. 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 posted 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. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.43% and a net margin of 11.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.69 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.35%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total transaction of $583,695.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKC. Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at $466,000. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 1st quarter valued at $260,000. Somerville Kurt F increased its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 96,074 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,325,000 after purchasing an additional 24,467 shares in the last quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at about $234,000. Finally, Dempze Nancy E lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.4% during the fourth quarter. Dempze Nancy E now owns 26,337 shares of the company's stock worth $2,008,000 after purchasing an additional 5,833 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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