Brokerages Set McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Price Target at $81.00

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have issued a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

MKC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.2 %

MKC opened at $78.24 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.00 billion, a PE ratio of 26.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.75. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $78.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.96. 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 has a 52 week low of $63.88 and a 52 week high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.22%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.50, for a total value of $392,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 40,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,174,226. This represents a 11.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock valued at $1,565,850. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. HCR Wealth Advisors raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.6% during the 2nd quarter. HCR Wealth Advisors now owns 5,372 shares of the company’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the 2nd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $357,000 after buying an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

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.