Insider Selling: McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Insider Sells 1,099 Shares of Stock

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $291.10, for a total value of $319,918.90. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 8,187 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,235.70. The trade was a 11.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of MCD traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $291.29. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,491,444 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,479,659. The stock has a market cap of $208.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.57, a PEG ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s Co. has a 1-year low of $243.53 and a 1-year high of $317.90. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $297.93 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $282.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.18 by $0.05. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%. The firm had revenue of $6.87 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.19 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.75 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Monday, December 2nd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MCD. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 1.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,916,980 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $4,833,510,000 after purchasing an additional 220,365 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in McDonald’s by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after buying an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after buying an additional 49,106 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 8.0% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,761,625 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,216,677,000 after acquiring an additional 354,196 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $301.00 to $317.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $295.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $320.65.

McDonald’s Company Profile

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.