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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the ten analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, three have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on MKC shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective 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. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 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, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $78.86 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. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $63.88 and a twelve month high of $85.49. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $78.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $77.06. The firm has a market cap of $21.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS 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 paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. 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 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 61.22%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This trade represents a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 in the last 90 days. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

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

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.