McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Short Interest Down 17.5% in March

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) saw a significant decline in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 10,142,095 shares, a decline of 17.5% from the March 15th total of 12,291,427 shares. Currently, 4.2% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 5,222,693 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Insider Transactions at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $67.92, for a total value of $339,600.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 43,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,922,529.68. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.09, for a total value of $335,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 31,596 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,119,775.64. This trade represents a 13.66% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 65,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,575,800. 10.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,679,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,225,828,000 after buying an additional 314,252 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 5.1% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 15,522,816 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,038,632,000 after buying an additional 747,844 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,508,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $441,571,000 after buying an additional 59,587 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,422,944 shares of the company’s stock worth $437,467,000 after buying an additional 190,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aristotle Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter worth approximately $259,918,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:MKC traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $53.20. The company had a trading volume of 3,971,086 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,758,027. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $60.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $64.09. The stock has a market cap of $14.30 billion, a PE ratio of 8.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.71. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $47.52 and a 1-year high of $78.16.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, March 31st. The company reported $0.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.87 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 13.29% and a net margin of 23.12%.McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 27th. Investors of record on Monday, April 20th will be given a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 20th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is currently 31.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $64.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. HSBC cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $69.00 to $55.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 26th. Zacks Research upgraded McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $81.00 to $64.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $67.00 to $58.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.27.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

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.