McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.05, RTT News reports. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.59 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated updated its FY 2024 guidance to 2.800-2.850 EPS and its FY24 guidance to $2.80-2.85 EPS.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC traded up $0.76 during trading on Thursday, hitting $76.79. 595,524 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,135,077. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.28. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a twelve month low of $59.13 and a twelve month high of $94.39. The company has a market cap of $20.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a PEG ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $67.73 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.74.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 64.12%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $326,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 22.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKC. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.9% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 5,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 28.1% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 6,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 1,415 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 108,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,803,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares during the period. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 1st quarter valued at about $543,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the first quarter worth approximately $313,000. 79.74% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $60.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $59.00 to $57.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Consumer Edge downgraded shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $71.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.25.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Company Profile

McCormick & Company, Incorporated manufactures, markets, and distributes spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to the food industry. It operates in two segments, Consumer and Flavor Solutions. The Consumer segment offers spices, herbs, and seasonings, as well as condiments and sauces, and desserts.