McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the nine brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, two have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $79.57.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MKC shares. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.7 %

MKC opened at $78.75 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $21.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.79, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.77. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $63.67 and a 12 month high of $85.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $81.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.06.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The firm’s revenue was down .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 278,397 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,165,000 after buying an additional 7,898 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 470.6% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,916,000 after acquiring an additional 31,306 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 333.8% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 70,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,452,000 after acquiring an additional 54,616 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 11.8% in the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 155,594 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,951,000 after acquiring an additional 16,420 shares during the period. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.1% during the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 632,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $44,882,000 after purchasing an additional 6,588 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.