McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $79.57.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MKC. Bank of America increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price 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 research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective 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, October 2nd.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.9 %

MKC opened at $75.31 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $63.67 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $79.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.62, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.77.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.39%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total value of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. 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.