McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the eight analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $76.14.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MKC. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 17th. Finally, Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,350. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 27.0% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 38,107 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,607,000 after acquiring an additional 8,113 shares in the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 12.9% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,278 shares of the company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 406,516 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,814,000 after purchasing an additional 8,437 shares in the last quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth about $224,000. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.5% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 54,987 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,762,000 after purchasing an additional 6,557 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MKC stock opened at $82.30 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $75.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.04, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.76. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $59.13 and a fifty-two week high of $85.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Stockholders of record on Monday, October 7th will be issued a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, October 7th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.04%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 61.31%.

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.