McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Lifted to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) to a strong-buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a sell rating to a neutral rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $79.57.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:MKC opened at $80.61 on Wednesday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.13 and a 1 year high of $85.49. The stock has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.42, a PEG ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $80.43 and a 200-day moving average of $75.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.69.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.63% and a net margin of 11.07%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Monday, October 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, October 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,944,350. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% during the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth $29,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth $35,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 40.3% during the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 794 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 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.