McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) CMO Sells $962,432.00 in Stock

McDonald’s Co. (NYSE:MCD) CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 3,200 shares of McDonald’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.76, for a total value of $962,432.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 9,858 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,964,892.08. This represents a 24.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

McDonald’s Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $304.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $218.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $293.76. McDonald’s Co. has a 1 year low of $243.53 and a 1 year high of $317.90.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 10th. The fast-food giant reported $2.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $2.83. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 181.63% and a net margin of 31.73%. Analysts forecast that McDonald’s Co. will post 12.25 EPS for the current year.

McDonald’s Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $1.77 per share. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is presently 62.16%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MCD. Norges Bank bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $2,725,190,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $703,074,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 31,151.1% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 2,319,142 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $706,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,311,721 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the fourth quarter worth $350,935,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in McDonald’s by 11.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 8,867,193 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $2,570,511,000 after purchasing an additional 895,896 shares during the last quarter. 70.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MCD. Bank of America lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup lifted their target price on McDonald’s from $336.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $342.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, TD Securities reissued a “hold” rating and set a $300.00 price target on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $323.61.

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.