McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Given Outperform Rating at Wedbush

Wedbush restated their outperform rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $295.00 price objective on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on MCD. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 30th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $295.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. UBS Group upped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Guggenheim cut McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.22.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $298.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $296.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.51. The stock has a market cap of $215.30 billion, a PE ratio of 25.36, a P/E/G ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a one year low of $243.53 and a one year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The firm’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares in the company, valued at $900,550. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total value of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,550. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 32,998 shares of company stock valued at $9,935,493. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald’s by 32.3% in the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $59,000. Finally, Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $69,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About McDonald’s

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.