McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Up 0.3% Following Analyst Upgrade

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)’s share price was up 0.3% on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $270.00 to $290.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. McDonald’s traded as high as $300.11 and last traded at $297.28. Approximately 614,537 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 3,463,561 shares. The stock had previously closed at $296.53.

MCD has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Tigress Financial lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Guggenheim upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $306.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,480.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,842,800. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $446,721.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,480.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 14,780 shares in the company, valued at $3,842,800. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,291 shares of company stock valued at $1,689,073 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC grew its stake in 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 worth $1,664,521,000 after buying an additional 5,609,736 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth $348,206,000. Capital World Investors grew its position in McDonald’s by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,005,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,534 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in McDonald’s by 15.5% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 987,099 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $211.69 billion, a PE ratio of 24.93, a PEG ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $274.83 and its 200 day moving average price is $270.53.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.67 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.71%.

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.