McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nineteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $308.22.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Citigroup raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Tigress Financial boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE MCD opened at $303.69 on Monday. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $306.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $281.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $270.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $218.86 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.17 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $2,833,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 43,256 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,193,080. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 5,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $1,781,937.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 20,403 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,121,716.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 33,249 shares of company stock valued at $9,865,866. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Clear Investment Research LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $44,000. Finally, Transcendent Capital Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently 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.