McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives $78.22 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have been assigned an average rating of “Hold” from the eleven analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $78.2222.

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $102.00 to $93.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, September 25th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $82.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $3,293,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,762 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,251,745.32. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Brendan M. Foley sold 57,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $3,746,360.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 108,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,123,225.12. This trade represents a 34.47% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders sold 146,158 shares of company stock worth $9,557,324. Insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKC. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 3,239 shares of the company’s stock valued at $246,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 21,563 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,443,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.0% during the first quarter. Raab & Moskowitz Asset Management LLC now owns 3,506 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.0% during the 1st quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 3,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $296,000 after buying an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 13.2% during the second quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $63.43 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $69.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12-month low of $63.14 and a 12-month high of $86.24. The company has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.62.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 7th. The company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.30% and a net margin of 11.46%.The company had revenue of $1.72 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.050 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 29th. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.28%.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.