Eastern Bank Invests $70,000 in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)

Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $70,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth about $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter worth about $35,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth about $49,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Bank of America lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC stock opened at $77.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The business has a 50 day moving average of $81.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.88. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $62.54 and a 52 week high of $85.49. The company has a market cap of $20.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.77.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 57.14%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.