McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high on Thursday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $302.69 and last traded at $301.77, with a volume of 144840 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $300.47.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Tigress Financial increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, September 23rd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $308.22.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $217.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $271.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at $13,193,080. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,249 shares of company stock worth $9,865,866. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $348,206,000. Capital World Investors lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 39.7% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012,534 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 15.5% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 987,099 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About McDonald’s

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.