McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) EVP Sells 13,134 Shares

McDonald’s Corporation (NYSE:MCD) EVP Manuel Jm Steijaert sold 13,134 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.42, for a total value of $3,945,716.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,383,734.52. This represents a 74.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of McDonald’s stock traded up $1.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $299.68. 1,591,351 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,443,824. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $304.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $305.20. The stock has a market cap of $213.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.70, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.50. McDonald’s Corporation has a 12 month low of $276.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The fast-food giant reported $3.22 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.33 by ($0.11). The firm had revenue of $7.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.10 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.21% and a negative return on equity of 225.52%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.23 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that McDonald’s Corporation will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $1.86 per share. This represents a $7.44 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.77. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is presently 63.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $335.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Guggenheim cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $295.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $323.91.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Nova Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter worth about $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the first quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in McDonald’s by 162.5% in the third quarter. Evergreen Private Wealth LLC now owns 84 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 142.9% in the 2nd quarter. Decker Retirement Planning Inc. now owns 85 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, Legacy Investment Solutions LLC purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by 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.