McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Earns “Hold” Rating from TD Cowen

TD Cowen reiterated their hold rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a report released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a $280.00 target price on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a neutral rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Guggenheim raised their price target on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $307.48.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $300.53 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $279.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $215.58 billion, a PE ratio of 25.51, a PEG ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.22%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 23,958 shares of company stock valued at $7,032,111 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,473,811,000 after purchasing an additional 599,745 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.2% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after purchasing an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.