McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Cut to “Neutral” at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird cut shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $290.00 target price on the fast-food giant’s stock, down from their prior target price of $320.00.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. 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. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.22.

McDonald’s Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $292.61 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The stock has a market cap of $210.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average of $297.78 and a 200 day moving average of $274.91.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in McDonald’s by 58.9% in the second quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after acquiring an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after acquiring an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at $7,898,000. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $15,231,000 after acquiring an additional 7,707 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.