Short Interest in McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) Declines By 21.6%

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,480,000 shares, a decrease of 21.6% from the June 15th total of 6,990,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,810,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.0 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $207,386.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Director Lawrence Erik Kurzius sold 80,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.75, for a total value of $5,900,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 199,258 shares in the company, valued at $14,695,277.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Katherine Jenkins sold 2,732 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.91, for a total transaction of $207,386.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 84,458 shares of company stock worth $6,235,714. Insiders own 22.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKC. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated in the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 283.9% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 787 shares of the company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 582 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 59.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 781 shares of the company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 16.5% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 944 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.74% of the company’s stock.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Performance

NYSE:MKC traded up $0.26 on Friday, reaching $71.45. 2,085,701 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,058,032. The firm has a market cap of $19.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.32. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 52 week low of $59.13 and a 52 week high of $90.45.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 27th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.59 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.07% and a return on equity of 14.63%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s revenue was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.85 earnings per share for the current year.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 8th will be paid a $0.42 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 8th. This represents a $1.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.35%. McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.31%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on MKC. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $73.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Argus raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $68.00 to $69.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target 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, March 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McCormick & Company, Incorporated currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $76.25.

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.