McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by Argus

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) was downgraded by Argus from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Thursday, Marketbeat reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.75.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MKC opened at $80.85 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $78.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.86. 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 cap of $21.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $66.88 and a 1-year high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.04). McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.89% and a net margin of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This represents a 81.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 23.80% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,737,310 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,419,653,000 after purchasing an additional 303,973 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,315,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,260,499,000 after buying an additional 1,114,706 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,024,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $458,114,000 after buying an additional 137,679 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,693,239 shares of the company’s stock worth $281,573,000 after buying an additional 531,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 3,530,972 shares of the company’s stock worth $269,060,000 after acquiring an additional 326,041 shares during the period. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.