McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty-one have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $319.52.

A number of research firms have commented on MCD. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $900,550. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,998 shares of company stock valued at $9,935,493 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 58.9% during the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after acquiring an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $7,898,000. First Long Island Investors LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 16.6% in the first quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,231,000 after buying an additional 7,707 shares during the period. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 504.6% in the first quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. now owns 9,165 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,584,000 after buying an additional 7,649 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

McDonald’s stock opened at $314.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $296.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $274.34. The company has a market capitalization of $226.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The firm had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. McDonald’s’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

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.