McCormick & Company, Incorporated (MKC) To Go Ex-Dividend on December 30th

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 19th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 30th will be given a dividend of 0.45 per share on Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 30th. This is a positive change from McCormick & Company, Incorporated’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.42.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has raised its dividend by an average of 7.8% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 37 years. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a dividend payout ratio of 53.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect McCormick & Company, Incorporated to earn $3.12 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.68 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 53.8%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Price Performance

MKC stock opened at $77.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 0.71 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50-day moving average is $79.85 and its 200-day moving average is $76.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.70 billion, a PE ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.77. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a 1 year low of $63.67 and a 1 year high of $85.49.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.68 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a return on equity of 15.30% and a net margin of 11.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 2.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America lifted their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. BNP Paribas raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $84.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.57.

Insider Activity at McCormick & Company, Incorporated

In related news, Director Jacques Tapiero sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.33, for a total transaction of $391,650.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 28,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,210,237.61. This represents a 15.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last three months, insiders have sold 20,000 shares of company stock worth $1,565,850. 22.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.