McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Shares Up 0.1%

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) were up 0.1% during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $268.51 and last traded at $267.75. Approximately 989,344 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 69% from the average daily volume of 3,210,443 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.39.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 5th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $319.72.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $284.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $280.76. The company has a market capitalization of $191.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83 by $0.12. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.22% and a negative return on equity of 171.96%. The business had revenue of $6.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.59 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.35 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.52%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.74%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the sale, the insider now owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 12.2% during the fourth quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $21,191,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services grew its position in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 11,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,269,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 7.9% during the third quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,522 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,191,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 7.7% in the third quarter. Garden State Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,227 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $323,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.