McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Shares Up 2.9% – Still a Buy?

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD)’s share price traded up 2.9% during trading on Monday. The company traded as high as $265.67 and last traded at $265.5430. Approximately 6,447,981 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 50% from the average daily volume of 4,302,200 shares. The stock had previously closed at $258.12.

McDonald’s News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting McDonald’s this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Expansion of McDonald’s beverage offerings and continued international growth could support third-quarter sales and provide potential catalysts ahead of the earnings release. McDonald’s Stock Ahead of Q3 Earnings: Buy, Sell or Wait for Now?

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Tigress Financial raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $385.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 17th. DZ Bank reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. HSBC decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $357.00 to $356.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. KeyCorp lowered their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $305.00 to $280.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $290.00 to $250.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-two have given a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $294.73.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $248.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $283.44. The firm has a market cap of $187.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.42.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 4th. The fast-food giant reported $3.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.32 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $7.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.13 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.72% and a negative return on equity of 572.06%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.93 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 1st. This represents a $7.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.86. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.44%.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 4,008.8% during the second quarter. Ascentis Wealth Management LLC now owns 84,230 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $22,768,000 after buying an additional 82,180 shares during the last quarter. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,026,000. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. increased its position in McDonald’s by 16.9% in the 2nd quarter. Borer Denton & Associates Inc. now owns 13,859 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $3,746,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 7.1% during the 2nd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 1,471,725 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $397,822,000 after acquiring an additional 97,060 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Viking Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 60.0% in the 3rd quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 40,000 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $9,238,000 after purchasing an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald’s Corporation is a global quick-service restaurant company that operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald’s brand. Its restaurants serve a menu that includes hamburgers, cheeseburgers, chicken sandwiches, French fries, breakfast items, desserts, salads, beverages and coffee. Offerings vary by market, and many locations provide drive-thru service, delivery and digital ordering through the McDonald’s mobile app.

The company operates through a heavily franchised business model, with restaurants owned and operated by independent franchisees, affiliates and the company itself.