McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Short Interest Down 17.5% in March

Key Points

• Short interest fell 17.5% in March to 10,142,095 shares (about 4.2% of float), leaving a short-interest ratio of roughly 1.9 days based on average daily volume.
• Insiders sold a total of 65,000 shares last quarter — including Lawrence Erik Kurzius offloading 50,000 shares — leaving corporate insiders with about 10.6% ownership.
• McCormick beat quarterly estimates with $0.66 EPS vs. $0.61 expected and $1.87B in revenue (up 16.7% YoY), and announced a $0.48 quarterly dividend (3.6% yield).

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,142,095 shares, a decrease of 17.5% from the March 15th total of 12,291,427 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 5,222,693 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 4.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $3,581,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 296,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,273,536.96. This represents a 14.41% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.92, for a total value of $339,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 43,029 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,922,529.68. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 65,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,575,800. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Aristotle Capital Management LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth about $259,918,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,232,337 shares of the company's stock worth $417,006,000 after acquiring an additional 2,494,544 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company's stock worth $187,183,000 after acquiring an additional 1,124,003 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at about $64,522,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at about $62,711,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. HSBC dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. BTIG Research initiated coverage on McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating for the company. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $59.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE MKC traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.20. The stock had a trading volume of 3,971,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,758,027. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $60.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.09. The firm has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $47.52 and a fifty-two week high of $78.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.48%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated NYSE: MKC is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick's product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.

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