McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Receives “Buy” Rating from TD Cowen

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

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $343.00 to $340.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Wedbush cut their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $300.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 26th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $297.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 6th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $315.00 to $300.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $317.74.

McDonald’s Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MCD traded down $2.96 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $270.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,639,735 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,321,246. McDonald’s has a 1-year low of $245.73 and a 1-year high of $302.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $194.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $280.07 and a 200 day moving average of $282.21.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The fast-food giant reported $2.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $6.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.16 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 33.36% and a negative return on equity of 180.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $2.63 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at McDonald’s

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

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 51.9% during the third quarter. Blue Bell Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 123 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Spartan Planning & Wealth Management purchased a new stake in McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Clear Investment Research LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.