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

Shares of McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) saw an uptick in 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 were traded during mid-day 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.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Baird R W cut shares of McDonald’s from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “hold” rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Tuesday, October 29th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,499 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.95, for a total value of $436,134.05. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $453,882. This trade represents a 49.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Desiree Ralls-Morrison sold 3,409 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $290.15, for a total transaction of $989,121.35. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,675 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,807,201.25. The trade was a 26.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,406 shares of company stock worth $2,150,857. 0.23% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Collier Financial purchased a new position in shares of McDonald’s during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Fairway Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 110.0% in the 4th quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 105 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

The company has a market cap of $222.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average is $291.02 and its 200 day moving average is $291.56.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 175.42% and a net margin of 31.79%. Analysts anticipate that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

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.