McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) has been given an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, sixteen have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $322.87.

MCD has been the topic of several research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of McDonald's from $310.00 to $300.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Truist Financial cut their target price on McDonald's from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $353.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. KeyCorp increased their price target on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of McDonald's from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was 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 owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total transaction of $286,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 13,978 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,263,290. This represents a 6.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400 in the last ninety days. 0.23% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. increased its holdings in McDonald's by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Orrstown Financial Services Inc. now owns 3,199 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $999,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in McDonald's by 4.1% in the first quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,811 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $566,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the period. First City Capital Management Inc. raised its position in McDonald's by 8.9% in the first quarter. First City Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,839 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $887,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank lifted its stake in McDonald's by 23.6% during the first quarter. Piscataqua Savings Bank now owns 3,954 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $1,235,000 after purchasing an additional 754 shares during the period. Finally, Godsey & Gibb Inc. boosted its holdings in McDonald's by 4.4% during the first quarter. Godsey & Gibb Inc. now owns 987 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

McDonald's Stock Performance

NYSE:MCD traded up $4.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $314.74. 328,344 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,574,823. The company has a fifty day moving average of $306.10 and a 200 day moving average of $299.00. McDonald's has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $224.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62.

McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald's had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. On average, analysts predict that McDonald's will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

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.