McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Trading 0.5% Higher – Should You Buy?

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) rose 0.5% on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $314.22 and last traded at $314.16. Approximately 506,020 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 3,709,320 shares. The stock had previously closed at $312.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MCD has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Erste Group Bank upgraded McDonald’s from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $297.00 to $290.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.87.

McDonald’s Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $220.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The business’s fifty day moving average is $307.01 and its 200-day moving average is $299.18.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.30%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares in the company, valued at $2,214,275.25. This represents a 3.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 5,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock worth $8,461,400. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,725,190,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in McDonald’s by 39,039.7% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,497,919 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,092,645,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488,982 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth approximately $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 11.2% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after buying an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.