Insider Selling: McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) EVP Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MCD traded down $1.78 on Friday, reaching $308.17. 4,970,477 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,295,052. The stock has a market cap of $220.84 billion, a PE ratio of 27.06, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $293.75 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $294.82. McDonald’s Co. has a 52-week low of $243.53 and a 52-week high of $317.90.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MCD shares. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America upped their price target on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in McDonald’s by 11.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in McDonald’s by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after acquiring an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.