McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Trading Up 0.6% - Time to Buy?

McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.6% during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $316.79 and last traded at $316.45. Approximately 854,309 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 3,558,920 shares. The stock had previously closed at $314.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on MCD shares. Wedbush increased their target price on McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on McDonald's from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. TD Securities reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $325.26.

McDonald's Stock Down 0.6 %

The company's 50 day simple moving average is $309.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $299.99. The company has a market capitalization of $222.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. The firm had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.17 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.27%. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald's

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.50, for a total transaction of $299,071.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 12,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,853,850. This represents a 7.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total value of $3,255,525.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. This trade represents a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock worth $8,676,247 over the last quarter. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald's

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company's stock.

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.