McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Shares Climb 1.6% – Should You Buy?

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC)’s stock price was up 1.6% during trading on Friday. The company traded as high as $46.68 and last traded at $46.44. 6,225,523 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 55% from the average daily volume of 4,012,677 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MKC shares. BNP Paribas Exane lowered their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 2nd. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $59.00 target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $59.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 21st. Weiss Ratings cut shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $52.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 2nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $55.30.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $50.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $50.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.40, a PEG ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.98 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 19.39%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.85 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.050-3.130 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 34.72%.

Insider Activity

In related 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 value of $10,829,797.22. Following the transaction, the insider owned 296,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,648,508.48. This trade represents a 40.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burns Matteson Capital Management LLC bought a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the third quarter worth approximately $515,000. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 233.4% during the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 38,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,797,000 after acquiring an additional 27,106 shares during the period. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co grew its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Walser Wealth Management Company A Ltd Liability Co now owns 6,165 shares of the company’s stock valued at $286,000 after acquiring an additional 812 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 7.2% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 15,671 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1,691.7% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 150,447 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,981,000 after purchasing an additional 142,050 shares in the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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.