McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Reaches New 12-Month High at $85.49

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $85.49 and last traded at $84.74, with a volume of 99194 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $83.76.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $86.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $77.38.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $77.98 and its 200 day moving average is $74.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 14.63%. The firm had revenue of $1.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th were given a dividend of $0.42 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 61.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $1,875,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 199,258 shares in the company, valued at $14,944,350. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 278,397 shares of the company’s stock worth $23,165,000 after acquiring an additional 7,898 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 374.3% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 116,169 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,948,000 after buying an additional 91,676 shares during the last quarter. Ossiam boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 89.5% during the 4th quarter. Ossiam now owns 41,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,869,000 after buying an additional 19,807 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 470.6% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 37,958 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,916,000 after buying an additional 31,306 shares during the period. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $430,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

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.