McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Earns Buy Rating from TD Cowen

TD Cowen reissued their buy rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a research report report published on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $305.00 price objective on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on MCD. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a hold rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of McDonald’s from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup dropped their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Truist Financial decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $345.00 to $340.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $317.74.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.1 %

McDonald’s stock traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $270.32. 2,639,735 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,321,246. McDonald’s has a twelve month low of $245.73 and a twelve month high of $302.39. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $280.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $282.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $194.90 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.71.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.71 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $1.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 29th. This represents a $6.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.47%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total value of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 16,977 shares in the company, valued at $4,696,517.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.64, for a total transaction of $303,750.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 16,977 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,696,517.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $284.38, for a total transaction of $312,533.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 18,075 shares in the company, valued at $5,140,168.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA raised its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Roffman Miller Associates Inc. PA now owns 155,740 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $46,179,000 after acquiring an additional 2,546 shares in the last quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 12.2% in the fourth quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $312,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in McDonald’s by 0.6% during the third quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 80,441 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $21,191,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares during the last quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services grew its stake in McDonald’s by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services now owns 11,025 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,269,000 after buying an additional 301 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mengis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 7.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mengis Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,522 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,191,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McDonald’s

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.