McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Trading 0.1% Higher – Still a Buy?

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) shares rose 0.1% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $310.15 and last traded at $309.45. Approximately 725,658 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 3,575,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $309.10.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $347.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Truist Financial decreased their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $322.87.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $307.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $299.35. The company has a market cap of $222.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (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%. Equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total transaction of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 9,858 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. The trade was a 24.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Morse Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. Morse Asset Management Inc now owns 3,385 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its position in McDonald’s by 11.6% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,537 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $468,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the third quarter valued at about $1,647,000. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.9% during the third quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,544 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,906,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at approximately $394,000. Institutional investors 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.