McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Insider Joseph M. Erlinger Sells 1,098 Shares

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

McDonald’s Price Performance

NYSE MCD traded up $1.23 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $276.81. The stock had a trading volume of 3,275,408 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,243,950. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $245.73 and a 1 year high of $302.39. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $282.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $281.24. The stock has a market cap of $199.58 billion, a PE ratio of 23.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.99 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 5th. The fast-food giant reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.83 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $6.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.45 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 171.96% and a net margin of 33.22%. McDonald’s’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.59 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.33 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Investors of record on Friday, March 1st were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.41%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 57.74%.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 3.8% during the third quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 2,129 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Onyx Bridge Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,067 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares during the period. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 6,527 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,719,000 after purchasing an additional 563 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 479.4% during the 3rd quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 394 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $104,000 after buying an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Leonard Rickey Investment Advisors P.L.L.C. bought a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $285,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on MCD. StockNews.com downgraded McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $327.00 to $320.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 12th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $319.72.

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.