McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Sees Large Volume Increase Following Analyst Upgrade

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) saw an uptick in trading volume on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $336.00 to $340.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. 2,161,793 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the previous session’s volume of 2,976,311 shares.The stock last traded at $308.09 and had previously closed at $294.30.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Truist Financial decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Baird R W lowered shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares in the company, valued at $2,383,235.70. This trade represents a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 in the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Riversedge Advisors LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.0% during the third quarter. Riversedge Advisors LLC now owns 1,686 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares in the last quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.0% during the third quarter. Proquility Private Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,472 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,057,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 2.8% during the third quarter. Clear Creek Financial Management LLC now owns 1,300 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $762,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boltwood Capital Management raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $546,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $291.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.