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

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-six research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $323.39.

Several research firms have recently commented on MCD. Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,405 shares of company stock valued at $9,886,656. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of MCD stock opened at $305.07 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $298.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $297.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $217.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.78, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. On average, equities analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.