McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $67.67, but opened at $71.69. McCormick & Company, Incorporated shares last traded at $71.99, with a volume of 337,545 shares.

The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.10. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be given a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 64.12%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MKC. Stifel Nicolaus boosted 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 report on Wednesday, March 27th. Argus upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $68.00 to $69.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.25.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $128,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total value of $5,900,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 199,258 shares in the company, valued at $14,695,277.50. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 1,726 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.35, for a total value of $128,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 104,458 shares of company stock worth $7,747,114 over the last ninety days. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 14.6% during the third quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 8,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $626,000 after buying an additional 1,055 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 3rd quarter worth $1,853,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.8% in the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 161,347 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,204,000 after acquiring an additional 10,310 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 133.2% during the third quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 50,743 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,838,000 after purchasing an additional 28,981 shares during the period. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 9.7% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 4,076 shares of the company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average of $72.29 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.12. The firm has a market cap of $18.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.