Insider Selling: McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Insider Sells 939 Shares of Stock

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,978 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,263,290. The trade was a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

McDonald’s Price Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded up $3.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $310.84. The company had a trading volume of 3,889,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,223,390. The firm has a market cap of $222.75 billion, a PE ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $292.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.35.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $323.61.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.