McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Upgraded to Hold at Zacks Research

Key Points

• Zacks upgraded McCormick from "strong sell" to "hold" while several analysts cut price targets; MarketBeat shows an average analyst rating of Hold with an average target price of $64.27.
• McCormick beat the quarter (EPS $0.66 vs. $0.61; revenue $1.87B vs. $1.79B, +16.7% YoY), yet the stock trades around $50.57, well below its 1‑year high and the average analyst target.
• Insiders sold roughly 115,000 shares (~$7.95M) in the last quarter even as institutions increased positions, leaving about 79.74% institutional ownership.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Zacks Research from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $81.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. TD Cowen reduced their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. BNP Paribas Exane reduced their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $75.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $50.57 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.28. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $47.52 and a 1 year high of $78.16. The company has a market capitalization of $13.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $61.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $64.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.09, for a total transaction of $335,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 31,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,119,775.64. The trade was a 13.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.43, for a total transaction of $3,371,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 246,762 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,639,161.66. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 115,000 shares of company stock valued at $7,947,300 in the last quarter. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKC. Aristotle Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $259,918,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 66.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,232,337 shares of the company's stock valued at $417,006,000 after buying an additional 2,494,544 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,797,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $187,183,000 after buying an additional 1,124,003 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $64,522,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at $62,711,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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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