McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stock Price Down 2.1% - Should You Sell?

Key Points

• MKC shares fell 2.1% to about $44.62, trading well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages near $51 and $50, respectively.
• Analyst sentiment is mixed but leans neutral: five analysts rate the stock a Buy, seven Hold, and one Sell, with an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.30.
• McCormick exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.86 EPS and $2.02 billion in revenue, while maintaining a quarterly dividend of $0.48 per share—an annualized yield of approximately 4.3%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) shares fell 2.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday. The company traded as low as $44.33 and last traded at $44.6220. Approximately 3,821,538 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 4% from the average session volume of 3,995,156 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.58.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on MKC shares. TD Cowen reiterated a "hold" rating and issued a $48.00 price target (down from $55.00) on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $59.00 target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price target on shares of 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. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane cut their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $55.30.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 2.1%

The business's 50-day moving average price is $51.03 and its 200-day moving average price is $50.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.01 billion, a PE ratio of 8.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.33.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.3%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.72%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MKC. Aristotle Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 231.9% during the first quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 12,664,378 shares of the company's stock worth $638,795,000 after acquiring an additional 8,848,235 shares during the period. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $154,566,000. Amundi raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 72.5% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 2,023,544 shares of the company's stock worth $102,068,000 after buying an additional 850,343 shares in the last quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,522,000. Finally, Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4,848.6% in the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,046,630 shares of the company's stock valued at $52,792,000 after buying an additional 1,025,480 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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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