McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Sets New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $300.00 to $325.00. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. McDonald’s traded as high as $317.50 and last traded at $317.50, with a volume of 7841 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $316.56.

MCD has been the topic of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $284.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 24th. Bank of America upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $319.52.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total value of $316,992.60. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 12,583 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.57, for a total transaction of $328,128.43. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 11,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,428,777.88. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,998 shares of company stock worth $9,935,493 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 3.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 66.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in McDonald’s by 8.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,216,677,000 after purchasing an additional 354,196 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in McDonald’s by 39.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,565,398 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,005,264,000 after purchasing an additional 1,012,534 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 31,151.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.1 %

The firm has a market cap of $226.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a PEG ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $296.41 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.34.

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

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a $1.77 dividend. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 60.10%.

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.