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

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $323.61.

Several brokerages have commented on MCD. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush upped their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 29th.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $307.34 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $292.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.35. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $220.24 billion, a PE ratio of 26.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total value of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. The trade was a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 21,106 shares of company stock worth $6,382,112. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.