McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $1.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.46% and a return on equity of 14.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.80 EPS.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE MKC opened at $66.48 on Thursday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $62.64 and a 1-year high of $86.24. The company has a 50 day moving average of $66.91 and a 200-day moving average of $67.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54. The firm has a market cap of $17.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 4.07 and a beta of 0.62.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 12th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 29th were issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 29th. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.9%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.44%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. 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 report on Thursday, September 25th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $76.00 to $71.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Tuesday, October 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $76.63.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.43, for a total transaction of $3,371,500.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 246,762 shares in the company, valued at $16,639,161.66. This represents a 16.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Brendan M. Foley sold 57,144 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.56, for a total value of $3,746,360.64. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 108,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,123,225.12. This represents a 34.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,158 shares of company stock worth $9,635,824. 23.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at about $56,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter valued at about $98,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 24.8% in the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,071 shares of the company’s stock worth $157,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.9% during the second quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,258 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,000 after purchasing an additional 181 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 & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.