Key Points
- Joseph Erlinger, President of McDonald’s USA, sold 333 shares on April 23 at an average price of $302.72 for a total of $100,805.76, reducing his stake by 3.96% to 8,067 shares — an insider sale that can be seen as a mild negative signal to investors.
- McDonald’s beat Q1 EPS estimates ($3.12 vs. $3.05), pays a $1.86 quarterly dividend (about a 2.5% yield), has a market cap near $215.3 billion, and carries a consensus analyst target of $340.93 with an average rating of "Moderate Buy".
McDonald's Corporation (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) insider Joseph Erlinger sold 333 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.72, for a total transaction of $100,805.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 8,067 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,442,042.24. This represents a 3.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.
McDonald's Trading Up 0.9%
McDonald's stock opened at $302.82 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $317.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $311.81. The stock has a market cap of $215.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.53. McDonald's Corporation has a 12-month low of $283.47 and a 12-month high of $341.75.
McDonald's (NYSE:MCD - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The fast-food giant reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.07. McDonald's had a negative return on equity of 343.90% and a net margin of 31.85%.The firm had revenue of $7.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.83 earnings per share. McDonald's's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that McDonald's Corporation will post 13.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
McDonald's Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 3rd were issued a $1.86 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.5%. McDonald's's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.26%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. iA Global Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in McDonald's during the first quarter worth approximately $4,746,000. Ellenbecker Investment Group boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 6.3% in the first quarter. Ellenbecker Investment Group now owns 1,520 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $473,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Exeter Financial LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald's by 0.6% during the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 18,019 shares of the fast-food giant's stock worth $5,600,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald's during the first quarter worth approximately $545,000. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald's by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 5,331 shares of the fast-food giant's stock valued at $1,657,000 after acquiring an additional 493 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
MCD has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Guggenheim lowered their price target on McDonald's from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $345.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald's from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. BTIG Research upped their target price on shares of McDonald's from $360.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of McDonald's from $350.00 to $365.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 12th. Seventeen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $340.93.
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About McDonald's
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McDonald's Corporation (NYSE: MCD) is a global quick-service restaurant company best known for its hamburgers, French fries and breakfast offerings. The company develops, operates and franchises a system of restaurants that sell a range of food and beverage items, including signature products such as the Big Mac, Quarter Pounder, Chicken McNuggets, McCafé coffee beverages and a variety of salads, desserts and seasonal menu items. McDonald's serves customers through company-operated restaurants and franchised locations, and it supports sales via dine-in, drive-thru, digital ordering platforms and third-party delivery partnerships.
Founded in 1940 by brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald as a single San Bernardino, California restaurant, the business was transformed into a franchising model after Ray Kroc joined in the mid-1950s and led the brand's national and international expansion.
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