McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Upgraded at Argus

Argus upgraded shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on MCD. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $288.00 to $278.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a hold rating and issued a $280.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, September 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $310.50.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MCD opened at $305.04 on Tuesday. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $306.96. The company’s fifty day moving average is $289.64 and its 200-day moving average is $272.42. The firm has a market cap of $218.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.44%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,557,060. 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 31,751 shares of company stock worth $9,493,973 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 43 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.