McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $322.87.

MCD has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400 over the last three months. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of MCD opened at $306.49 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $305.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $298.97. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $326.32. The company has a market cap of $218.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

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

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. 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.