McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Given New $69.00 Price Target at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) had its target price boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $66.00 to $69.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an underweight rating on the stock.

MKC has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen upgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.00.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.2 %

MKC opened at $74.90 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.75. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 12 month low of $64.33 and a 12 month high of $85.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.96.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 23rd. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.03. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.87% and a return on equity of 15.30%. On average, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, January 13th. Investors of record on Monday, December 30th were given a dividend of $0.45 per share. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.40%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, December 30th. This is an increase from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.22%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 28,217 shares in the company, valued at $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850 over the last quarter. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wallington Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wallington Asset Management LLC now owns 4,136 shares of the company’s stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 12,536 shares of the company’s stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Aurora Investment Counsel now owns 8,443 shares of the company’s stock worth $695,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 20,134 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,657,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the period. Finally, Ritholtz Wealth Management raised its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 19,482 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,603,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.