McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.45

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of 0.45 per share on Monday, April 21st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 7th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 38 years. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a dividend payout ratio of 54.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect McCormick & Company, Incorporated to earn $3.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.4%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Down 0.2 %

MKC stock traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $81.47. 2,176,119 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,899,000. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $66.88 and a 1-year high of $86.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $79.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

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McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company had revenue of $1.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently commented on MKC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research note on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus cut McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $83.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,177 shares of the company's stock, valued at $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.