Brokerages Set McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Target Price at $81.00

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Hold" by the ten analysts that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, five have given a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $81.00.

MKC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. 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 report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Activity

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated 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 owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,237.61. The trade was a 15.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. Company insiders own 22.90% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 87.5% in the second quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 375 shares of the company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth $29,000. Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the third quarter valued at $40,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company's stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

Shares of MKC stock traded down $0.85 during trading on Friday, reaching $80.56. The company had a trading volume of 1,467,746 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,896,260. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $78.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $76.81. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $63.88 and a one year high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a market capitalization of $21.62 billion, a PE ratio of 27.40, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 0.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.15. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated's previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.22%.

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.