Baird R W Downgrades McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) to Hold

Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Wednesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $308.00 to $322.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on McDonald’s from $330.00 to $315.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 30th. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have assigned 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 $318.22.

McDonald’s Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE:MCD opened at $292.61 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $210.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $317.90. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $297.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $274.91.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.17 earnings per share. McDonald’s’s revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that McDonald’s will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. This is a boost from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.42%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 60.10%.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $14,966,996.55. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $446,721.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 sold 34,097 shares of company stock worth $10,256,818. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC purchased a new stake in McDonald’s during the second quarter valued at about $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC boosted its position in McDonald’s by 32.3% during the first quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares during the period. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the second quarter worth about $65,000. 70.29% of the stock is owned by 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.