Margaret M. V. Preston Sells 28,092 Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Stock

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was 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 approximately $475,814.31. The trade was a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock opened at $77.07 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.61 and a 200-day moving average of $78.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $20.67 billion, a PE ratio of 26.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $64.86 and a 1-year high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 30th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. TD Cowen upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.75.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,419,653,000 after purchasing an additional 303,973 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,260,499,000 after purchasing an additional 1,114,706 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company’s stock worth $458,114,000 after purchasing an additional 137,679 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.8% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,693,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,573,000 after purchasing an additional 531,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,530,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,060,000 after purchasing an additional 326,041 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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.