McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $81.50.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MKC shares. TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target 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. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.34, for a total transaction of $386,700.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,182,302.78. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wallington Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel lifted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the third quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock valued at $695,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 20,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 19,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,603,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 8,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $707,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $74.54 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $77.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $77.76. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $63.88 and a 12-month high of $85.49. The company has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be issued a $0.45 dividend. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.22%.

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.