McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.05 EPS

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The fast-food giant reported $3.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.18 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The company had revenue of $6.87 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year.

McDonald’s Price Performance

MCD stock traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $292.21. 199,592 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,508,863. The company has a market cap of $209.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $298.19 and its 200 day moving average is $275.47. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.42%. This is an increase from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.94%.

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $286.36, for a total value of $428,967.28. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,966,996.55. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Guggenheim lowered McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the company from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Truist Financial cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $350.00 to $342.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $321.00 to $324.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday. Argus raised McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $318.74.

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.