BNP Paribas Exane Cuts McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Price Target to $75.00

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) had its price target reduced by BNP Paribas Exane from $83.00 to $75.00 in a research report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. BNP Paribas Exane currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $74.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 25th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $59.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $48.71 on Wednesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $47.52 and a 12 month high of $82.90. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $62.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $64.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.98, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.28 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.61 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 23.12% and a return on equity of 13.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.43, for a total transaction of $3,371,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 246,762 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,639,161.66. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.09, for a total value of $335,450.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 31,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,119,775.64. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 115,000 shares of company stock worth $7,947,300 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.8% during the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private?label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.