McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD) Receives Consensus Rating of "Hold" from Analysts

McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Hold" from the twenty-nine research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $322.00.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MCD. Argus downgraded McDonald's from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, June 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on McDonald's from $324.00 to $326.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Citigroup upped their target price on McDonald's from $364.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Bank of America cut their price objective on McDonald's from $327.00 to $322.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research note on Thursday, June 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $299.49, for a total value of $281,221.11. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 9,283 shares in the company, valued at $2,780,165.67. This trade represents a 9.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.00, for a total value of $300,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer owned 8,858 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,400. The trade was a 10.14% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,817 shares of company stock valued at $1,147,992. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 0.9% in the first quarter. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC now owns 3,630 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 3.5% in the first quarter. Granite Bay Wealth Management LLC now owns 988 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $309,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 1.9% in the first quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,793 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $560,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC raised its position in McDonald's by 2.5% in the first quarter. Consilium Wealth Advisory LLC now owns 1,334 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $417,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Security Financial Services INC. raised its position in McDonald's by 0.7% in the first quarter. Security Financial Services INC. now owns 5,043 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

McDonald's Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of McDonald's stock traded down $1.32 during trading on Friday, hitting $297.85. 2,466,061 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,525,165. The firm has a market cap of $212.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald's has a 52-week low of $246.12 and a 52-week high of $326.32. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $301.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $302.83.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The business had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 195.27% and a net margin of 31.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.70 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that McDonald's will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 2nd. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.49%.

McDonald's Company Profile

McDonald's Corp. engages in the operation and franchising of restaurants. It operates through the following segments: U.S., International Operated Markets, and International Developmental Licensed Markets and Corporate. The U.S. segment focuses its operations on the United States. The International Operated Markets segment consists of operations and the franchising of restaurants in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, and the U.K.