McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the thirty analysts that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, fourteen have given a hold recommendation and fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $319.72.

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Redburn Atlantic reaffirmed a “sell” rating and set a $260.00 price target (down previously from $319.00) on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, June 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 30th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.52, for a total transaction of $270,920.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 10,222 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,949,251.44. This represents a 8.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the sale, the chief marketing officer directly owned 8,858 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,400. This trade represents a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,817 shares of company stock worth $1,165,843 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Abound Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.2%

NYSE:MCD opened at $296.87 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $302.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $212.27 billion, a PE ratio of 26.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $246.12 and a twelve month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were given a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.38%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.49%.

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.