McCormick & Company, Incorporated Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.45 (NYSE:MKC)

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, March 26th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 7th will be given a dividend of 0.45 per share on Monday, April 21st. This represents a $1.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated has increased its dividend payment by an average of 7.2% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 38 consecutive years. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a dividend payout ratio of 54.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect McCormick & Company, Incorporated to earn $3.31 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.80 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 54.4%.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated Stock Up 0.8 %

McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $80.85. 2,775,733 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,839,692. McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a one year low of $66.88 and a one year high of $86.24. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $78.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. The company has a market cap of $21.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.59, a PEG ratio of 3.76 and a beta of 0.71.

McCormick & Company, Incorporated (NYSE:MKC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 25th. The company reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.64 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. McCormick & Company, Incorporated had a net margin of 11.73% and a return on equity of 14.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.63 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that McCormick & Company, Incorporated will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MKC shares. TD Cowen raised shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $86.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Barclays dropped their price target on McCormick & Company, Incorporated from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised McCormick & Company, Incorporated from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $85.00 to $91.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McCormick & Company, Incorporated has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McCormick & Company, Incorporated news, Director Margaret M. V. Preston sold 28,092 shares of McCormick & Company, Incorporated stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.03, for a total value of $2,163,926.76. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 6,177 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,814.31. This trade represents a 81.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 23.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About McCormick & Company, Incorporated

McCormick & Co, Inc engages in the manufacturing, marketing, and distribution of spices, seasoning mixes, condiments, and other flavorful products to retail outlets, food manufacturers, and foodservice businesses. It operates through the Consumer and Flavor Solutions segments. The Consumer segment sells spices, seasonings, condiments, and sauces.