McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Short Interest Down 12.7% in September

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 5,650,000 shares, a decline of 12.7% from the August 31st total of 6,470,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,900,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,350. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 278,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,165,000 after purchasing an additional 7,898 shares in the last quarter. Ossiam boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 89.5% in the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 41,928 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,869,000 after purchasing an additional 19,807 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 470.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after purchasing an additional 31,306 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth about $430,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 333.8% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 70,977 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,452,000 after buying an additional 54,616 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $83.24 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 30.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $79.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.85. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $59.13 and a 52-week high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.59 by $0.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 7th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MKC. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.14.

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.