McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Hits Expectations

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) released its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83, Zacks reports. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.79% and a negative return on equity of 175.42%.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $310.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $222.27 billion, a PE ratio of 27.23, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $291.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $291.56. McDonald’s has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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 paid a $1.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.28%. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MCD has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $336.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of McDonald’s from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $290.00 to $285.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total transaction of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $453,882. This represents a 49.00 % 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.23% 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, Russia, Spain, and the U.K.