McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-six analysts that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $323.61.

Several research firms have weighed in on MCD. Wedbush increased their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Truist Financial cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total transaction of $319,918.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. This represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. This trade represents a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,504 shares of company stock valued at $9,897,305. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Yoffe Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $720,000. LifeWealth Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at $293,000. Capital A Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. LM Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 149.0% during the 4th quarter. LM Advisors LLC now owns 5,029 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,458,000 after buying an additional 3,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lakeshore Capital Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth about $427,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD opened at $304.02 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $293.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.72. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The company has a market cap of $217.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.33%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

About McDonald’s

McDonald’s Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.