McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Trading Down 0.8%

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) shares fell 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $254.68 and last traded at $255.31. 469,249 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average session volume of 3,372,245 shares. The stock had previously closed at $257.38.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MCD. Wedbush decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Argus restated a “hold” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Guggenheim decreased their target price on McDonald’s from $325.00 to $315.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $315.14.

McDonald’s Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $186.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.92, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a fifty day moving average of $263.91 and a 200 day moving average of $279.67.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.74%. The business had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.19 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total transaction of $220,016.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 19 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,225.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,095 shares of company stock valued at $1,100,625 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,684,899,000. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 141,160.9% in the 4th quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,664,521,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its position 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 valued at $1,542,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its position in McDonald’s by 10,702.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,174,426 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $644,739,000 after acquiring an additional 2,154,297 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $348,206,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.