Analysts Set McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) PT at $317.74

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-eight research firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twenty have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $317.74.

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Bank of America raised their target price on McDonald’s from $291.00 to $341.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 29th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday. Citigroup lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Guggenheim lowered their target price on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd.

McDonald’s Trading Down 2.9 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $257.99 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $185.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $273.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $283.34. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 180.74% and a net margin of 33.36%. The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 12.17 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd will be paid a $1.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 3rd. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.59%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19 shares in the company, valued at $5,225.38. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total transaction of $220,016.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,225.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,997 shares of company stock worth $836,300 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Clear Investment Research LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Keener Financial Planning LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.