Short Interest in McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Grows By 26.5%

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 11,030,000 shares, an increase of 26.5% from the February 13th total of 8,720,000 shares. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Bank of America raised their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.39.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the sale, the insider now owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 19.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 437,959 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $126,960,000 after acquiring an additional 72,296 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 2,897 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $839,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Tableaux LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $415,000. Wealthedge Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $415,000. Finally, Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 4,416 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,280,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $303.60 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $297.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $297.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $216.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.