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

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-nine brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $315.69.

A number of analysts have issued reports on MCD shares. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD stock opened at $314.75 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $226.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.72, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $273.48. McDonald’s has a 52 week low of $243.53 and a 52 week high of $315.36.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 178.68%. McDonald’s’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.71 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is currently 60.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $285,740.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,557,060. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $285,740.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 13,681 shares in the company, valued at $3,557,060. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,221,233. 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 company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $35,194,000 after purchasing an additional 51,210 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth about $7,898,000. First Long Island Investors LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $15,231,000 after purchasing an additional 7,707 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 504.6% during the 1st quarter. Lloyd Advisory Services LLC. now owns 9,165 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 7,649 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.