McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) EVP Marion K. Gross Sells 1,099 Shares

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $475,176. This trade represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

McDonald’s Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $304.76 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $292.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $293.92. The company has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.76, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.74. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on MCD shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 70,169,342 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $20,341,391,000 after purchasing an additional 526,466 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 16,074,438 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,652,768,000 after buying an additional 157,458 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,082,894 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,592,892,000 after buying an additional 128,800 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 10,652,445 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $3,088,037,000 after acquiring an additional 531,070 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.