McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives $78.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the nine research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $76.25.

Several analysts recently issued reports on MKC shares. Argus raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $1,511,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,997.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $1,511,400.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,868,997.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total value of $207,386.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 104,458 shares of company stock worth $7,747,114. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKC. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 18,701 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,415,000 after acquiring an additional 1,894 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at $566,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 296.0% during the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 422,993 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,995,000 after buying an additional 316,168 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at $565,000. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.8% during the third quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 108,879 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,236,000 after buying an additional 3,946 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 4.3 %

NYSE:MKC opened at $70.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63. The business’s 50 day moving average is $72.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.12. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.13 and a 52 week high of $92.46. The company has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a PE ratio of 26.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The company had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.84 EPS for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.12%.

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.