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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.58 by $0.05, RTT News reports. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 14.45% and a net margin of 10.56%. The business had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.59 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue was up 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of MKC stock opened at $76.02 on Thursday. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1-year low of $59.13 and a 1-year high of $94.39. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $67.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.28. The company has a market cap of $20.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.20 and a beta of 0.73.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 8th will be given a dividend of $0.42 per share. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.21%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s payout ratio is 64.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total transaction of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McCormick & Company, Incorporated

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,235,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,068,734,000 after purchasing an additional 105,272 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 92,736.4% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,770,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,334,000 after buying an additional 5,764,492 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 1.9% in the first quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,404,603 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,737,000 after purchasing an additional 101,633 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,190,234 shares of the company’s stock valued at $218,276,000 after purchasing an additional 730,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,157,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $147,591,000 after purchasing an additional 282,006 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

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.