McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius Sells 80,000 Shares

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total value of $5,900,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 199,258 shares in the company, valued at $14,695,277.50. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

Shares of MKC opened at $73.64 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $74.08 and its 200-day moving average is $69.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $19.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.80 and a beta of 0.73. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $59.13 and a fifty-two week high of $94.39.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, March 26th. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 10.56% and a return on equity of 14.45%. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.59 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th were paid a $0.42 dividend. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 5th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.9% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,119,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,390,261,000 after buying an additional 883,327 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 41.7% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,359,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,667,000 after acquiring an additional 1,577,636 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,438,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $260,108,000 after purchasing an additional 93,034 shares during the last quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC boosted its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 4.4% during the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 3,211,122 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,646,000 after purchasing an additional 136,080 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.4% during the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 2,622,602 shares of the company’s stock valued at $201,442,000 after purchasing an additional 60,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MKC shares. Barclays raised their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Argus upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Citigroup lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $77.88.

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.