McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Down 1% – Should You Sell?

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) dropped 1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $305.01 and last traded at $310.62. Approximately 1,319,634 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 63% from the average daily volume of 3,548,021 shares. The stock had previously closed at $313.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MCD has been the subject of several recent research reports. BTIG Research reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. TD Securities reiterated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price 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 report on Monday, March 17th. Wedbush boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $325.91.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.5%

The company has a market capitalization of $223.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.57. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $310.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $300.11.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $2.70 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 directly owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This represents a 15.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were 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. The trade was a 6.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 28,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,676,247. Insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Pinney & Scofield Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.