McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) Downgraded to “Hold” at Baird R W

Baird R W downgraded shares of McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

MCD has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group raised their price target on McDonald’s from $305.00 to $345.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $295.00 target price on shares of McDonald’s in a research note on Wednesday. Loop Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of McDonald’s in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of McDonald’s from $296.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus dropped their target price on shares of McDonald’s from $285.00 to $265.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.22.

McDonald’s Stock Down 3.0 %

Shares of MCD stock opened at $292.61 on Wednesday. McDonald’s has a 12 month low of $243.53 and a 12 month high of $317.90. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $297.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $274.91. The firm has a market cap of $210.88 billion, a PE ratio of 24.84, a P/E/G ratio of 4.13 and a beta of 0.73.

McDonald’s (NYSE:MCD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 29th. The fast-food giant reported $2.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.07 by ($0.10). The business had revenue of $6.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.62 billion. McDonald’s had a negative return on equity of 178.68% and a net margin of 32.25%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down .1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that McDonald’s will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

McDonald’s Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Monday, December 2nd will be issued a dividend of $1.77 per share. This is a positive change from McDonald’s’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.67. This represents a $7.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.42%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 2nd. McDonald’s’s dividend payout ratio is 60.10%.

Insider Activity at McDonald’s

In other McDonald’s news, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total transaction of $321,325.62. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at $3,036,366.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CMO Edith Morgan Flatley sold 2,346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $310.00, for a total transaction of $727,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now owns 2,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $900,550. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Joseph M. Erlinger sold 1,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $292.38, for a total value of $321,325.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 10,385 shares in the company, valued at $3,036,366.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,097 shares of company stock valued at $10,256,818 over the last quarter. 0.23% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MCD. Dixon Mitchell Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in McDonald’s in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Kings Path Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of McDonald’s during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Keener Financial Planning LLC grew its position in McDonald’s by 32.3% during the 1st quarter. Keener Financial Planning LLC now owns 176 shares of the fast-food giant’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in McDonald’s in the 2nd quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Bbjs Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in McDonald’s in the second quarter valued at about $65,000. Institutional investors own 70.29% of the company’s stock.

McDonald’s Company Profile

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.