McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Earns Neutral Rating from Analysts at BTIG Research

BTIG Research initiated coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued a neutral rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Zacks Research upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $77.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $65.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, HSBC decreased their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $53.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $64.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $47.52 and a twelve month high of $78.16. The company has a market capitalization of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.6%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.48%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Gavin Hattersley acquired 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $52.98 per share, for a total transaction of $105,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 2,906 shares in the company, valued at $153,959.88. This represents a 220.75% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.63, for a total value of $3,581,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 296,992 shares in the company, valued at $21,273,536.96. This trade represents a 14.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 65,000 shares of company stock worth $4,575,800. Corporate insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.8% in the fourth quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 340.0% in the fourth quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 462 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.