McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Upgraded at TD Cowen

TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. TD Cowen currently has $90.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $86.00.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.50.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 4.2 %

Shares of MKC opened at $71.40 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $19.16 billion, a PE ratio of 24.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s fifty day moving average is $77.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $63.88 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a boost from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.52%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.22%.

Insider Activity

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jacobs & Co. CA lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 149,685 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,411,000 after purchasing an additional 3,020 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 24.9% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 7,670 shares of the company’s stock worth $585,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 21,507 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after purchasing an additional 1,955 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 73.9% in the fourth quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,590 shares of the company’s stock worth $807,000 after purchasing an additional 4,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 8.9% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 308,903 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,423,000 after purchasing an additional 25,278 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.