Analysts Set McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Target Price at $78.22

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Hold” by the eleven research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $78.2222.

Several research firms have weighed in on MKC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 11th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $79.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $83.00 to $82.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, September 25th.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of MKC opened at $65.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.71. The company has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a PEG ratio of 3.74 and a beta of 0.61. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $66.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.62. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $63.15 and a 52-week high of $86.24.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 7th. The company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.82 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.30% and a net margin of 11.46%.The company had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.000-3.050 EPS. Analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, October 27th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 14th were paid a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 14th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is 62.28%.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.86, for a total value of $3,293,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 246,762 shares in the company, valued at $16,251,745.32. This trade represents a 16.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 23.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKC. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.7% in the 1st quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 88,287 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,267,000 after purchasing an additional 4,771 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.1% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 621,806 shares of the company’s stock valued at $51,181,000 after buying an additional 18,820 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.9% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 325,802 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,817,000 after buying an additional 18,133 shares during the last quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 20.9% during the first quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 251,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $20,727,000 after buying an additional 43,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bright Rock Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth about $7,582,000. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

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.