McDonald’s Co. Plans Quarterly Dividend of $1.77 (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of 1.77 per share by the fast-food giant on Monday, March 17th. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.41%.

McDonald’s has increased its dividend payment by an average of 8.9% per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 16 consecutive years. McDonald’s has a payout ratio of 52.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect McDonald’s to earn $12.39 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $7.08 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 57.1%.

McDonald’s Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded up $5.54 on Thursday, reaching $294.37. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,589,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,015,325. McDonald’s has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $210.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.84, a PEG ratio of 3.83 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $290.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $290.37.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on MCD. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $334.00 to $336.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Robert W. Baird lowered McDonald’s from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $320.00 to $290.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $319.57.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total value of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

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.