McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Cut to “Neutral” at Robert W. Baird

Robert W. Baird lowered shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has $290.00 target price on the fast-food giant’s stock, down from their previous target price of $320.00.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MCD. Tigress Financial upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $355.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on McDonald’s from $310.00 to $330.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.22.

McDonald’s Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $292.61 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a fifty-two week low of $243.53 and a fifty-two week high of $317.90. The company’s 50-day moving average is $297.78 and its 200 day moving average is $274.91. The company has a market capitalization of $210.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly 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 negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,632,712.10. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,098 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.70, for a total transaction of $316,992.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 12,583 shares in the company, valued at $3,632,712.10. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its position in shares of McDonald’s by 32.3% in the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter valued at about $65,000. 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.