McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Shares Up 0.6% – Still a Buy?

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD)’s stock price traded up 0.6% on Friday . The company traded as high as $312.99 and last traded at $310.82. 2,726,918 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 24% from the average session volume of 3,584,180 shares. The stock had previously closed at $309.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MCD shares. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, February 10th. Erste Group Bank upgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective 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. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.87.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $222.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $307.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $299.30.

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

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 sold a total of 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400 over the last 90 days. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 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.