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

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.59 EPS. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s quarterly revenue was up 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 Performance

MKC traded up $0.85 on Thursday, reaching $76.88. 644,613 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,135,876. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $67.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.74. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $59.13 and a fifty-two week high of $94.39. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $20.62 billion, a PE ratio of 29.02, a PEG 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.19%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.12%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Michael D. Mangan sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.20, for a total value of $326,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 39,181 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,554,601.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 22.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McCormick & Company, Incorporated

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKC. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 92,736.4% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,770,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $478,334,000 after purchasing an additional 5,764,492 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $148,700,000. Holocene Advisors LP purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,091,000. FIL Ltd purchased a new stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the 4th quarter worth approximately $50,733,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 29.7% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 3,190,234 shares of the company’s stock worth $218,276,000 after buying an additional 730,328 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.