On May 10, 2023, the Swiss National Bank announced that it had reduced its position in McCormick & Company, Incorporated by 6.1% in the fourth quarter of the previous year. The bank’s report, as filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission states that they owned approximately 0.38% worth $84,382,000 at the end of Q4.
McCormick & Company is one of the leading global food companies with a portfolio of spices, seasonings and flavorings used in homes and restaurants across more than 150 countries. As expected in such a large organization, there are varying opinions on the company’s growth potential giving rise to rating agency reviews whose reports may be pertinent to investors.
JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of McCormick & Company from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave it an “underweight” rating in a research report published on March 29th of this year.
In contrast Bernstein upgraded MKC from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective for the company in January while StockNews.com assumed coverage on MKC shares on March 16th with a “hold” rating for the company.
Stifel Nicolaus also assumed coverage on shares of MKC and issued them a “hold” rating with some scepticism over growth possibilities evidenced by their low price target figure of only $82.00 per share reported last month.
Bank of America analysts agreed with JPMorgan Chase giving McCormick & Company an underperform status but boosting their own price target from $73.00 to just above that figure at $75.00 per share.
Data shows that three equities research analysts have rated MKC stock as “Sell”, five have given them a “Hold” rating while three others have come out advising investors to buy into the stock. Bloomberg.com data gives the company consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $80.10 which is slightly below the current market value.
As for trading, NYSE:MKC opened at the $88.29 mark on May 10th and has a market cap of $23.68 billion with a P/E ratio hovering around 35.74, coupled with quick and debt-to-equity ratios of 0.32 and 0.74 respectively reflecting a good liquidity situation.
While it remains to be seen whether McCormick & Company will grow as steadily as its spices in the years to come, investors are being given mixed signals about its performance potential in the short term at least.
With various research firms presenting contrasting reviews, those interested in investing in MKC should carefully consider future developments before making their decisions regarding this specific equity instrument.
Institutional Investors Boost Ownership in McCormick & Company, Despite Insider Selling and Mixed Research Analyst Ratings
McCormick & Company, Incorporated has attracted the interest of many hedge funds and institutional investors lately. Evermay Wealth Management LLC recently reported a 412.8% boost in its position with the company during the third quarter, subsequently owning 400 shares worth $29,000. Other investors have also stepped up their positions in recent months, with Align Wealth Management LLC acquiring a new position in the fourth quarter; Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquiring a new position in the first quarter; Standard Family Office LLC acquiring a new position in the third quarter; and General Partner Inc buying a new stake during the fourth quarter worth around $60,000. Interestingly, institutional investors own 79.15% of McCormick & Company’s stock.
In spite of this activity, Director Michael D Mangan recently sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $75 per share. The sale amassed approximately $375,000 for Mangan while insiders still retain ownership of around 19% of McCormick & Company’s stock.
Several research companies have offered analyses and opinions about McCormick & Company lately; Sanford C Bernstein suggests an outperform rating for the company following an upgrade from market perform but J.P.Morgan Chase & Co increased their price target on McCormick stocks only slightly with an underweight rating. Three equities research analysts have given MCC Hold ratings while five others offer Buy signals and three more suggest Sell ratings. Bloomberg.com suggests that overall prediction is to Hold stocks with an average price target sitting at $80.10.
Despite mixed messages from researchers and critics alike, McCormick & Company posted earnings per share (EPS) figures on March 28th which exceeded expectations from analysts at $0.59 vs consensus estimates of $0.49 – beating predictions by $0.10 per share – and delivered revenue figures at roughly $1.57 billion compared to analysts’ predicted figure at just barely less ($1.54 billion). Reports also detail McCormick & Company earning a net margin of 10.42% and return on equity of 14.34%.
