McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-nine analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $320.50.

MCD has been the subject of several analyst reports. Tigress Financial upped their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. TD Cowen reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CFO Ian Frederick Borden sold 5,939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.04, for a total value of $1,781,937.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 20,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,121,716.12. This represents a 22.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 19.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,099 shares of company stock valued at $10,273,786 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. now owns 1,422 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $433,000 after acquiring an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Finally, GDS Wealth Management lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $762,000 after buying an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE MCD opened at $296.60 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $298.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.09. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $212.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.39%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

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.