McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Shares Down 0.1% After Insider Selling

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) shares were down 0.1% on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $314.79 and last traded at $318.68. Approximately 896,949 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 3,577,468 shares. The stock had previously closed at $319.08.

Specifically, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total transaction of $299,071.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,853,850. The trade was a 7.20 % 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.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Truist Financial decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.74.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $227.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $307.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $299.60.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.22%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $8,729,000 after buying an additional 579 shares during the period. Bell Bank lifted its holdings in McDonald’s by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,681,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $1,628,000. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,888,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McDonald’s

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.