McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Receives $81.50 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $81.50.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MKC. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $74.54. 1,456,812 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,486,242. The company has a fifty day moving average of $77.48 and a 200-day moving average of $77.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.88 and a 52-week high of $85.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's payout ratio is currently 61.22%.

Insider Activity

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,210,237.61. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKC. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter valued at about $20,227,000. Hemenway Trust Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 71.5% during the third quarter. Hemenway Trust Co LLC now owns 140,362 shares of the company's stock worth $11,552,000 after buying an additional 58,511 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 57.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 40,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,298,000 after purchasing an additional 14,652 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,728 shares of the company's stock worth $11,500,000 after acquiring an additional 24,881 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,104,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently 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.