McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Climb 2.1% - Time to Buy?

Key Points

• McCormick shares rose 2.1% to about $45.73 in heavier-than-average trading, but remain below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages near $50.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans cautious: the consensus rating is “Hold”, with an average price target of $55.30 after several firms reduced their targets.
• The company beat quarterly expectations, reporting $0.86 in EPS and $2.02 billion in revenue, while maintaining a $0.48 quarterly dividend that yields approximately 4.2%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) shot up 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The stock traded as high as $46.84 and last traded at $45.7270. Approximately 5,301,940 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 32% from the average session volume of 4,001,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.80.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group decreased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, September 21st. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a $48.00 target price (down from $55.00) on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $55.00 to $47.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $55.30.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $50.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $50.22. The company has a market capitalization of $12.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 1st. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 19.39%. The business had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.98 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.050-3.130 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.2%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is currently 34.72%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, major shareholder Lawrence Kurzius sold 205,538 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.69, for a total transaction of $10,829,797.22. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 296,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,648,508.48. This represents a 40.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1,691.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 150,447 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,981,000 after buying an additional 142,050 shares in the last quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 9.9% during the 3rd quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 368,000 shares of the company's stock worth $17,075,000 after buying an additional 33,000 shares in the last quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $204,000. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $645,000. Finally, Fluent Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.1% during the third quarter. Fluent Financial LLC now owns 31,822 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,477,000 after acquiring an additional 3,689 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated is a global producer and marketer of spices, herbs, seasonings, condiments, sauces and other flavor products. The company sells branded products to consumers through grocery stores, e-commerce channels and other retail outlets, while also supplying customized flavor solutions, ingredients and seasonings to food manufacturers, restaurants and foodservice operators.

Its portfolio includes the McCormick, French's, Frank's RedHot, Lawry's, OLD BAY, Zatarain's, Grill Mates and Cholula brands, among others.

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