McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Up 2.1% – Here’s Why

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) shares rose 2.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday. The company traded as high as $46.84 and last traded at $45.7270. 5,301,940 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 32% from the average daily volume of 4,001,547 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.80.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen reissued a “hold” rating and set a $48.00 price target (down from $55.00) on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $55.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $63.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.30.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 0.65. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.46 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $50.14. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 1st. The company reported $0.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.76 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.98 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 19.39% and a return on equity of 12.01%. The company’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.85 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.050-3.130 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, October 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 34.72%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Lawrence Kurzius sold 205,538 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.69, for a total transaction of $10,829,797.22. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 296,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,648,508.48. This trade represents a 40.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Parvin Asset Management LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the second quarter worth $25,000. Union Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter valued at $30,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Essential Partners LLC grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 146.5% during the first quarter. Essential Partners LLC now owns 742 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 441 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated is a global producer and marketer of spices, herbs, seasonings, condiments, sauces and other flavor products. The company sells branded products to consumers through grocery stores, e-commerce channels and other retail outlets, while also supplying customized flavor solutions, ingredients and seasonings to food manufacturers, restaurants and foodservice operators.

Its portfolio includes the McCormick, French’s, Frank’s RedHot, Lawry’s, OLD BAY, Zatarain’s, Grill Mates and Cholula brands, among others.