McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Shares Up 1.5% – What’s Next?

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)’s share price rose 1.5% on Monday . The company traded as high as $315.65 and last traded at $314.49. Approximately 850,852 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 76% from the average daily volume of 3,576,669 shares. The stock had previously closed at $309.90.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MCD shares. Barclays increased their price target on McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $322.87.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $307.01 and a 200-day moving average of $299.18. The company has a market cap of $223.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.27%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $286,395.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in McDonald’s by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after purchasing an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,652,768,000 after acquiring an additional 157,458 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,088,037,000 after buying an additional 531,070 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.