McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Short Interest Up 27.2% in August

Key Points

• Short interest in McCormick & Company increased by 27.2% in August, reaching a total of 8,560,000 shares, with a days-to-cover ratio of 3.7 days.
• Institutional investors significantly boosted their stakes in McCormick, with Norges Bank acquiring a new stake valued at approximately $249 million and Alyeska Investment Group increasing its position by 1,360.5%.
• McCormick recently reported its quarterly earnings, beating estimates with an EPS of $0.69 and projecting a FY 2025 EPS guidance of 3.030-3.080.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totaling 8,560,000 shares, an increase of 27.2% from the August 15th total of 6,730,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 4.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Currently, 4.2% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 2,320,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $69.00 to $83.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. UBS Group reduced their price target on 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. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $82.00 to $76.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.25.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MKC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.7% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,427,901 shares of the company's stock worth $2,458,683,000 after buying an additional 553,862 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,375,983 shares of the company's stock worth $481,354,000 after buying an additional 133,800 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.6% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,135,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,406,000 after buying an additional 920,618 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 44.9% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,737,793 shares of the company's stock valued at $283,399,000 after acquiring an additional 1,158,423 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at approximately $249,087,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:MKC traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.54. 4,423,613 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,193,977. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $65.47 and a 1-year high of $86.24. The firm has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.27.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

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. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.