McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume Following Analyst Upgrade

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $336.00 to $340.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Approximately 2,161,793 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 27% from the previous session’s volume of 2,976,311 shares.The stock last traded at $308.09 and had previously closed at $294.30.

Several other analysts also recently commented on MCD. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $342.00 to $340.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $323.61.

Insider Buying and Selling at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. The trade was a 49.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.50, for a total value of $321,457.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 9,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,716,155. The trade was a 10.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Collier Financial acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the third quarter worth $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $291.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $291.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.16%.

About McDonald’s

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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.