Analysts Set McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Target Price at $77.88

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has received a consensus rating of “Hold” from the nine analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have assigned a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $77.88.

Several brokerages recently commented on MKC. Argus upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Citigroup increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $75.76 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $72.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.53. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.13 and a 1 year high of $94.39. The stock has a market cap of $20.33 billion, a PE ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th were issued a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is presently 64.12%.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $1,511,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,732 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,868,997.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Patricia A. Little sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 24,732 shares in the company, valued at $1,868,997.24. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $128,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 33,726 shares of company stock worth $2,504,728. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 64.6% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 108,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,216,000 after purchasing an additional 42,625 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD. acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter valued at $5,728,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7,344.4% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 116,132 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,946,000 after acquiring an additional 114,572 shares during the period. abrdn plc grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 19.1% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 443,332 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,333,000 after purchasing an additional 71,133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs & Co. CA increased its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. Jacobs & Co. CA now owns 142,949 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,780,000 after purchasing an additional 16,098 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.