McDonald’s Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:MCD)

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 50,179 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 63% compared to the typical daily volume of 30,833 call options.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MCD opened at $288.66 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $265.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $271.00. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $208.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. Analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,480.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 4,793 shares of company stock valued at $1,260,106. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in McDonald’s by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,473,811,000 after purchasing an additional 599,745 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $2,684,899,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,178,474,000 after acquiring an additional 987,099 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after acquiring an additional 188,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609,736 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. KeyCorp dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $305.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 target price for the company. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $303.71.

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.