McCormick & Company, Incorporated Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:MKC)

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) was the recipient of unusually large options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 3,902 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 94% compared to the typical volume of 2,016 call options.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $63.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Weiss Ratings upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $51.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, June 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $60.50.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.5%

MKC traded down $0.28 on Tuesday, hitting $51.80. The company had a trading volume of 327,979 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,969,344. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.39. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52-week low of $44.82 and a 52-week high of $72.41. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $52.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.64.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, June 25th. The company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.91 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 12.78% and a net margin of 21.91%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.69 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.050-3.130 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.08 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 6th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 6th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.7%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, major shareholder Lawrence Kurzius sold 205,538 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 296,992 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,648,508.48. This represents a 40.90% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 10.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKC. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the second quarter worth about $25,000. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators boosted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 67.8% in the 4th quarter. Deseret Mutual Benefit Administrators now owns 406 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT grew its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 340.0% in the 4th quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT now owns 462 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. 79.74% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE: MKC) is a global leader in spices, seasonings and flavor solutions. Headquartered in Hunt Valley, Maryland, the company traces its origins to the late 19th century and has grown into a major manufacturer and marketer of branded and private‑label flavor products for consumer, industrial and foodservice markets.

McCormick’s product portfolio includes pure spices and herbs, blended seasonings, marinades, rubs, sauces, extracts and specialty flavorings, along with ingredient systems and custom flavor development for manufacturers and foodservice operators.