Short Interest in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Grows By 19.7%

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 12,138,693 shares, a growth of 19.7% from the March 31st total of 10,142,095 shares. Approximately 5.1% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 6,133,279 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Gavin Hattersley acquired 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $52.98 per share, with a total value of $105,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 2,906 shares of the company's stock, valued at $153,959.88. This trade represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $3,581,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 296,992 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,273,536.96. The trade was a 14.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 65,000 shares of company stock worth $4,575,800 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 10.60% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 406 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 340.0% during the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 462 shares of the company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SouthState Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1,777.8% during the 3rd quarter. SouthState Bank Corp now owns 507 shares of the company's stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MKC. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c-)" rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Monday. TD Cowen reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $59.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC stock opened at $50.48 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business has a fifty day moving average of $57.00 and a 200 day moving average of $63.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $47.52 and a 1 year high of $78.16.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 20th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.8%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.48%.

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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