McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirty ratings firms that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $303.71.

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $310.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 29th.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the firm’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 4,793 shares of company stock worth $1,260,106. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 1,168.1% in the 4th quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 168,419 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $49,938,000 after buying an additional 155,138 shares in the last quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. grew its stake in McDonald’s by 20.7% in the 4th quarter. Gilbert & Cook Inc. now owns 4,384 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,300,000 after buying an additional 753 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in McDonald’s by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,749 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 397 shares in the last quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 31.0% in the 4th quarter. MONECO Advisors LLC now owns 3,917 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,161,000 after purchasing an additional 927 shares during the period. Finally, Savant Capital LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 38,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $11,382,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $287.10 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $263.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $270.77. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $206.91 billion, a PE ratio of 24.37, a PEG ratio of 3.58 and a beta of 0.71.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.33%. 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.