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

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $295.00 target price on the fast-food giant’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on MCD. Argus reissued a hold rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, March 25th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $315.00 to $310.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 1st. Erste Group Bank reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen dropped their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $285.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on McDonald’s in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. They issued a neutral rating and a $288.00 price target for the company. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $309.82.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD opened at $257.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $185.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $302.39. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $257.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $274.84.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.74%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.63 EPS. Research analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.13 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 3rd were given a $1.67 dividend. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.71%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Jonathan Banner sold 800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.02, for a total value of $220,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 19 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,225.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,593 shares of company stock valued at $1,472,518 in the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 7.3% during the 2nd quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 14,785 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,768,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 95.8% during the 2nd quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 4,607 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,174,000 after acquiring an additional 2,254 shares in the last quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 32.2% during the 2nd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 5,260 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,341,000 after acquiring an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 116,188 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $29,610,000 after acquiring an additional 4,396 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 4,116 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,049,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.