McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Upgraded by BNP Paribas to Strong-Buy

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) to a strong-buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MKC. Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a sell rating to a neutral rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 1.4 %

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $80.89 on Wednesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $59.13 and a 12 month high of $85.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.52, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.07%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.31%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 23.9% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 55,598 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,576,000 after acquiring an additional 10,734 shares during the period. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 51,338 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,225,000 after purchasing an additional 3,366 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at approximately $227,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at approximately $5,298,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at $39,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.