McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Stock Price Down 0.7% – Should You Sell?

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) was down 0.7% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $313.46 and last traded at $313.76. Approximately 531,207 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average daily volume of 3,577,307 shares. The stock had previously closed at $316.07.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MCD. KeyCorp upped their price target on McDonald’s from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Wedbush upped their target price 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, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on McDonald’s from $340.00 to $335.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, sixteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $322.87.

McDonald’s Stock Down 1.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $223.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.47, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $306.66 and a 200-day moving average of $299.09.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.83. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. Sell-side analysts predict that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $7.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.26%. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 62.16%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, EVP Tiffanie L. Boyd sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.27, for a total value of $309,270.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 5,564 shares in the company, valued at $1,720,778.28. This trade represents a 15.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,099 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $304.60, for a total value of $334,755.40. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $475,176. This represents a 41.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,497 shares of company stock valued at $8,461,400. 0.23% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of MCD. Focus Financial Network Inc. lifted its position in shares of McDonald’s by 1.5% in the first quarter. Focus Financial Network Inc. now owns 13,606 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of McDonald’s by 3.3% in the first quarter. Donaldson Capital Management LLC now owns 211,177 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $65,965,000 after purchasing an additional 6,742 shares during the last quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of McDonald’s by 2.6% in the first quarter. My Legacy Advisors LLC now owns 4,802 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock valued at $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Curbstone Financial Management Corp lifted its stake in shares of McDonald’s by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp now owns 5,126 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,601,000 after buying an additional 154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Columbia Advisory Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth about $274,000. 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, Spain, and the U.K.