McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) CEO Sells $3,255,525.00 in Stock

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 10,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 32,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,155,997.80. This represents a 24.27 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.0 %

MCD stock traded up $2.96 during trading on Thursday, reaching $310.56. 1,441,047 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,171,360. McDonald’s Co. has a twelve month low of $243.53 and a twelve month high of $317.90. The company has a market capitalization of $222.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $291.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $292.08.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share 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%. Equities analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $280.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, McDonald’s has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $323.61.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in McDonald’s during the 3rd quarter worth $1,394,000. YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth $1,628,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 0.9% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,564,359 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,694,403,000 after purchasing an additional 49,106 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in McDonald’s by 6.5% in the third quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 49,186 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $14,978,000 after purchasing an additional 2,997 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFW Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,471,000. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.