McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Down 0.5% Following Insider Selling

McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) shares dropped 0.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $316.00 and last traded at $317.02. Approximately 478,133 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 87% from the average daily volume of 3,575,503 shares. The stock had previously closed at $318.48.

Specifically, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 12,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,853,850. This trade represents a 7.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Bank of America raised their price objective on McDonald's from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $322.74.

McDonald's Stock Up 0.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $226.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $308.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $299.75.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 earnings per share 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 given a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald's

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Mattern Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 30,110 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $8,729,000 after acquiring an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Bell Bank grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Bell Bank now owns 12,699 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $3,681,000 after buying an additional 371 shares during the period. YANKCOM Partnership bought a new stake in shares of McDonald's during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,628,000. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in McDonald's by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Integral Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,512 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,888,000 after buying an additional 164 shares during the period. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald's in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About McDonald's

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.