McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Plans $0.42 Quarterly Dividend

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 27th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of 0.42 per share on Monday, April 22nd. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has raised its dividend by an average of 7.8% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend every year for the last 37 years. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a payout ratio of 55.4% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect McCormick & Company, Incorporated to earn $3.01 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.8%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $76.02 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.02, a P/E/G ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day moving average is $67.73 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.13 and a 1 year high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. Analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MKC. Consumer Edge downgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. 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 research note on Wednesday. Barclays dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $74.00 to $71.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Citigroup lifted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $75.63.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,554,601.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 408.6% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $164,000 after acquiring an additional 1,324 shares during the period. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter valued at about $157,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 89.8% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 1,849 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,000 after acquiring an additional 875 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.9% during the first quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,698 shares of the company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the first quarter valued at about $86,000. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.