McCormick & Company, Incorporated Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MKC)

Key Points

• Options activity surged: Investors traded 3,902 McCormick call options, 94% above the average volume of 2,016 contracts.
• Institutional ownership remains high: Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of MKC, while major shareholder Lawrence Kurzius sold 205,538 shares worth approximately $10.8 million.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed: McCormick has a consensus “Hold” rating and a $60.50 price target, despite recent earnings beating estimates and revenue rising 16.7% year over year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 3,902 call options on the company. This is an increase of 94% compared to the average volume of 2,016 call options.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Lawrence Kurzius sold 205,538 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.69, for a total value of $10,829,797.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 296,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,648,508.48. The trade was a 40.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 10.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4,040.2% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 22,290,279 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,123,876,000 after purchasing an additional 21,751,887 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,522,816 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,038,632,000 after purchasing an additional 747,844 shares during the last quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 231.9% during the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 12,664,378 shares of the company's stock valued at $638,795,000 after buying an additional 8,848,235 shares in the last quarter. XXEC Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter valued at about $154,566,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,508,928 shares of the company's stock worth $441,571,000 after buying an additional 59,587 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MKC. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 4th. Barclays decreased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $57.00 to $55.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $77.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $60.50.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $51.80. 327,979 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,969,344. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $52.95. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $44.82 and a fifty-two week high of $72.41. The stock has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.11. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.69 earnings per share. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.050-3.130 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Investors of record on Monday, July 6th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 6th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.95%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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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