McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley reissued their equal weight rating on shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, MarketBeat reports. They currently have a $324.00 price target on the fast-food giant’s stock, down from their previous price target of $329.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on McDonald’s from $300.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Wedbush lifted their price target on McDonald’s from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of McDonald’s from $353.00 to $364.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. TD Securities restated a “hold” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Thursday, June 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $312.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, McDonald’s has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $324.48.

McDonald’s Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of McDonald’s stock opened at $304.84 on Monday. McDonald’s has a 12-month low of $243.53 and a 12-month high of $326.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $217.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $312.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $302.86.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The fast-food giant reported $2.67 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $2.67. The company had revenue of $5.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.17 billion. McDonald’s had a net margin of 31.73% and a negative return on equity of 181.63%. The company’s revenue was down 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.70 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that McDonald’s will post 12.25 earnings per share for the current year.

McDonald’s Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 2nd will be paid a $1.77 dividend. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 2nd. McDonald’s’s payout ratio is 62.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 939 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.07, for a total value of $295,850.73. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 11,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,516,496.27. This represents a 7.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On McDonald’s

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of McDonald’s in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of McDonald’s in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. HFM Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Nova Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 1st quarter worth approximately $26,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in McDonald’s during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

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.