McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives Average Recommendation of "Hold" from Analysts

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) have been assigned a consensus rating of "Hold" from the nine research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation and two have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $77.88.

MKC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Consumer Edge cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Argus upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 5,594 shares of the company's stock, valued at $430,738. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $1,511,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Maritza Gomez Montiel sold 7,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 5,594 shares in the company, valued at $430,738. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 32,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,376,400. 22.90% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SVB Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. SVB Wealth LLC now owns 3,937 shares of the company's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.3% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 53,866 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,482,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.5% in the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 2,150 shares of the company's stock worth $187,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Kinneret Advisory LLC now owns 6,880 shares of the company's stock worth $687,000 after acquiring an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KFG Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,229 shares of the company's stock worth $358,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock remained flat at $75.63 on Tuesday. 1,044,679 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,148,404. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.68. The stock has a market cap of $20.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.87, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.74. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $69.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.53. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $59.13 and a 12 month high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The company's revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.12%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.