McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Short Interest Update

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MCD. 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 report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. TD Securities reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds 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 stake in McDonald’s during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE:MCD traded up $4.18 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $304.01. The stock had a trading volume of 2,758,371 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,327,466. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $297.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $297.02. The company has a market capitalization of $217.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

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.