McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Given New $76.00 Price Target at Stifel Nicolaus

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus has decreased the target price for McCormick & Company (NYSE: MKC) from $82.00 to $76.00, maintaining a "hold" rating, indicating a potential upside of 6.52% from its last close.
• McCormick has a consensus rating of "Hold" with an average target price of $83.00, while various analysts have differing opinions on the stock, with ratings ranging from sell to strong buy.
• Insider activity reveals that 23.80% of the company's stock is owned by corporate insiders, highlighting significant investment by those within the company.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Free Report) had its price objective decreased by Stifel Nicolaus from $82.00 to $76.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a hold rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on MKC. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 5th. Finally, UBS Group started coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a report on Monday, June 16th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.5%

NYSE:MKC traded down $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $70.30. 1,401,903 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,312,277. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $73.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.99. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $69.84 and a fifty-two week high of $86.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.68.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 26th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.43%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 7th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is presently 62.50%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 7,642 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.38, for a total transaction of $583,695.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 23.80% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $575,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 151,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,552,000 after buying an additional 11,795 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 4,405 shares of the company's stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 352 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company's stock valued at $458,114,000 after buying an additional 137,679 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 92.4% in the fourth quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 32,479 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,451,000 after buying an additional 15,598 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.