McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Down 0.4% on Analyst Downgrade

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)’s share price traded down 0.4% during trading on Friday after Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on the stock from $312.00 to $300.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. McDonald’s traded as low as $251.85 and last traded at $253.84. 775,744 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average session volume of 3,432,383 shares. The stock had previously closed at $254.80.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on MCD. Truist Financial decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $312.11.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,593 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,518. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Southland Equity Partners LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 67.3% in the 2nd quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 13,430 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after acquiring an additional 5,404 shares in the last quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% in the second quarter. Capital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 29,768 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $7,586,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Norway Savings Bank increased its stake in McDonald’s by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. Norway Savings Bank now owns 4,557 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,161,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management boosted its position in McDonald’s by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 847 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Finally, Spring Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.7% in the second quarter. Spring Capital Management LLC now owns 17,329 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,416,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.3 %

The firm has a market cap of $183.15 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $258.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders 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 2.63%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, June 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.71%.

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.