McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) gapped up prior to trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $73.64, but opened at $77.00. McCormick & Company, Incorporated shares last traded at $76.90, with a volume of 729,147 shares changing hands.

The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.04. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.50% and a return on equity of 14.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 earnings per share. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 21st. Investors of record on Monday, July 7th will be paid a $0.45 dividend. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 7th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.86%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on MKC shares. Argus downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research report on Monday, June 16th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $83.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, VP Gregory Repas sold 2,750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.42, for a total value of $223,905.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,266 shares in the company, valued at $184,497.72. This represents a 54.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.81, for a total transaction of $4,090,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 247,437 shares in the company, valued at $20,242,820.97. This represents a 16.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,392 shares of company stock valued at $4,898,101 over the last 90 days. 23.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKC. Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth $466,000. Somerville Kurt F lifted its holdings in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 34.2% during the fourth quarter. Somerville Kurt F now owns 96,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,325,000 after purchasing an additional 24,467 shares during the period. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the first quarter worth $260,000. DJE Kapital AG acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter valued at $4,228,000. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth $234,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $20.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $74.35 and a 200-day moving average price of $76.70.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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.