McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) Short Interest Update

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 11,030,000 shares, a growth of 26.5% from the February 13th total of 8,720,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 3,290,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Currently, 1.5% of the company’s stock are sold short.

McDonald’s Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of MCD stock traded down $0.37 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $303.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,434,593 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,334,261. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $297.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $216.91 billion, a PE ratio of 26.66, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.71. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $326.32.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.33%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on MCD. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Truist Financial lowered their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.39.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $310.05, for a total transaction of $3,255,525.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. The trade was a 24.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $280.75, for a total transaction of $84,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 7,887 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,214,275.25. This trade represents a 3.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 33,504 shares of company stock valued at $10,206,575. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $703,074,000. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $350,935,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in McDonald’s by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $2,570,511,000 after acquiring an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 24.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 4,054,387 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,175,326,000 after purchasing an additional 794,536 shares in the last quarter. 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.