TD Cowen Reiterates Hold Rating for McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD)

TD Cowen reaffirmed their hold rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a research report report published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $280.00 price objective on the fast-food giant’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $300.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $275.00 to $301.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $320.00 to $300.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. They set a neutral rating and a $288.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Loop Capital reissued a buy rating and set a $342.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McDonald’s presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $308.22.

McDonald’s Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:MCD opened at $303.65 on Monday. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $304.29. The company has a market cap of $217.82 billion, a PE ratio of 25.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $279.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $270.89.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.07 by ($0.10). McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The company had revenue of $6.49 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.17 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that McDonald’s will post 11.69 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a dividend of $1.67 per share. This represents a $6.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 56.71%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In related news, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total value of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 1,560 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $387,285.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Christopher J. Kempczinski sold 11,727 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.03, for a total value of $3,518,451.81. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 49,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,966,996.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Marion K. Gross sold 1,498 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.26, for a total transaction of $371,893.48. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 1,560 shares in the company, valued at $387,285.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 23,958 shares of company stock valued at $7,032,111. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of McDonald’s

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in McDonald’s by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 69,049,310 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $20,473,811,000 after purchasing an additional 599,745 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 7,347,048 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,178,474,000 after acquiring an additional 987,099 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 3.2% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 6,149,080 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,567,030,000 after acquiring an additional 188,888 shares during the period. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 141,160.9% during the fourth quarter. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors LLC now owns 5,613,710 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,664,521,000 after acquiring an additional 5,609,736 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its position in shares of McDonald’s by 66.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 5,471,007 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $1,542,550,000 after acquiring an additional 2,193,769 shares during the period. 70.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About McDonald’s

McDonald's Corporation operates and franchises restaurants under the McDonald's brand in the United States and internationally. It offers food and beverages, including hamburgers and cheeseburgers, various chicken sandwiches, fries, shakes, desserts, sundaes, cookies, pies, soft drinks, coffee, and other beverages; and full or limited breakfast, as well as sells various other products during limited-time promotions.