McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Up 0.8%

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) traded up 0.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $253.47 and last traded at $252.56. 908,124 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 73% from the average session volume of 3,417,357 shares. The stock had previously closed at $250.49.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. UBS Group decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Argus reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $302.00 to $288.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 28th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $312.11.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $183.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $259.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.86.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.19 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Investors of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 56.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total transaction of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,225.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,593 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,518 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $2,684,899,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% in the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after purchasing an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,542,550,000 after buying an additional 2,193,769 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 10,702.5% during the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $644,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154,297 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the first quarter worth approximately $348,206,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.