McDonald's (NYSE:MCD) Sets New 12-Month High - Still a Buy?

McDonald's Co. (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $319.95 and last traded at $317.45, with a volume of 1978601 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $310.37.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on McDonald's from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on McDonald's from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on McDonald's from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler reduced their price target on McDonald's from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, TD Securities restated a "hold" rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald's in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald's has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $323.61.

McDonald's Trading Up 3.6 %

The company has a market cap of $229.71 billion, a PE ratio of 28.23, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $295.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $296.37.

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McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last released 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 negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Equities analysts expect that McDonald's Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald's Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald's's payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald's

In other McDonald's news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total transaction of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. The trade was a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of McDonald's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock worth $10,206,575. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Northeast Financial Consultants Inc now owns 7,486 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $2,170,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. GDS Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 1.4% during the third quarter. GDS Wealth Management now owns 2,504 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $762,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Boltwood Capital Management lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Boltwood Capital Management now owns 1,882 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Pettee Investors Inc. now owns 5,401 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,566,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 899 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $261,000 after purchasing an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

McDonald's Company Profile

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.