TD Cowen Reiterates “Hold” Rating for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD)

TD Cowen reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a report released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. TD Cowen currently has a $300.00 price target on the fast-food giant’s stock.

MCD has been the subject of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Argus raised shares of McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $318.22.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

MCD opened at $292.61 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $297.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $274.91. The company has a market cap of $210.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a net margin of 32.25% and a negative return on equity of 178.68%. The business had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.62 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 2nd. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total transaction of $3,518,451.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 9,291 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.00, for a total value of $2,833,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,193,080. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $14,966,996.55. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at $6,612,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 58.9% during the 2nd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 138,102 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $35,194,000 after buying an additional 51,210 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $14,978,000 after buying an additional 2,997 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 1st quarter worth approximately $7,898,000. Finally, First Long Island Investors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 16.6% in the first quarter. First Long Island Investors LLC now owns 54,021 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $15,231,000 after acquiring an additional 7,707 shares in the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.