McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Receives $316.66 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-seven ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $316.66.

A number of analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $315.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, October 31st. TD Cowen restated an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, September 20th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $330.00 in a report on Friday, July 28th. Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $330.00 to $285.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 19th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “buy” rating on the stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD opened at $266.89 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $281.82. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $245.73 and a 12 month high of $299.35. The company has a market capitalization of $193.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.49, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.70.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Monday, October 30th. The fast-food giant reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.00 by $0.19. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.31% and a negative return on equity of 157.19%. The business had revenue of $6.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.68 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 15th. Investors of record on Friday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 30th. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 5,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $1,569,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 29,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,128,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 5,606 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.00, for a total transaction of $1,569,680.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 29,031 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,128,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.00, for a total transaction of $285,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 929 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $264,765. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,443 shares of company stock valued at $5,863,300. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dfpg Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dfpg Investments LLC now owns 10,807 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,179,000 after buying an additional 1,062 shares in the last quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. First Fiduciary Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 900 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fortitude Advisory Group L.L.C. now owns 1,153 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 46.4% during the 2nd quarter. Register Financial Advisors LLC now owns 947 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $282,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwest Bancshares Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Northwest Bancshares Inc. now owns 4,056 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,210,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.60% of the company’s stock.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises McDonald's restaurants in the United States and internationally. The company's restaurants offer hamburgers and cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches and nuggets, fries, salads, shakes, frozen desserts, sundaes, soft serve cones, bakery items, soft drinks, coffee, and beverages and other beverages, as well as breakfast menu, including muffins, Sausages, biscuit and bagel sandwiches, oatmeal, hash browns, breakfast burritos and hotcakes.